


Make This Feel Like Home

by SimplyNiall



Series: Make This Feel Like Home [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Abuse, Accidents, Age Play, Angst, Baby Niall, Cuddles, Cute Niall, Dummies, Fluff, Harry Styles - Freeform, Innocent Niall, Liam Payne - Freeform, Louis Tomlinson - Freeform, Milk, Niall Horan - Freeform, Niall-centric, Nightmares, Non-Sexual Age Play, One direction AU, Pacifiers, Toys, Wetting, bottles, messing, nappy use, sick, sippy cups, tantrums, teddies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-08-22 15:30:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 123,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8290945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyNiall/pseuds/SimplyNiall
Summary: Found in a precarious predicament, Niall needed to be saved, he needed a secure home to be shielded from all the abuse he had once been subdued to. Not only that, with the mindset of a toddler, he needed to be cared for and loved. Liam never anticipated He would be left in charge of these unwonted tasks, although maybe he would find someone to help with more than just Niall along the way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will contain non-sexual age play and babying. If that is not your cup of tea, please just exit out of this now! 
> 
> This is my first ever piece of work I will be posting on here, any feedback would be highly appreciated and I hope you enjoy my writing! If you read this story, thank you so so much because I'm putting a lot of time and effort into this! So yeah, enjoy!

~~~~Liam walked up the footpath to Niall’s childhood home. Gently knocking on the door, he awaited someone to answer it. A few moments passed and nobody came to the door. He frowned to himself, knowing he and Niall had arranging him to come this specific day and time.

He pushed the handle of the door and was surprised to find it was open. He pushed it open, hesitantly walking inside. He was greeted by the alluring scent of stew being cooked on the stove. It smelt like a true quintessential Irish home.

He smiled softly to himself as he peered around for any signs of inhabitants, or Niall. “Hello, is anybody home?” He called out, his footsteps echoing against the hardwood flooring with each step he took.

He peered into each room as he passed, searching for any of the Horan’s. He soon came to the end of the hall; Niall’s childhood bedroom. This was the only shut door. He knocked on it and heard a shuffling behind it. “Niall?” He called out. No response. He didn’t know whether he was pushing the boundaries or not by inviting himself in. Wouldn’t Niall have heard him knocking? Maybe he didn’t want him here,

He pushed back his instincts and opened the door. His eyes widened when he saw what he was encountered with. Niall was sitting in the corner, cowering . He peered up at Liam with blue glassy eyes glistening in the light, a teddy clutched tightly in his arms, being held protectively to his chest. The red bags under his eyes made it evident Niall had been crying, as did the tear tracks running down his cheeks.

Liam swallowed the lump growing in his throat. “Ni?” He quietly spoke, stepping into the room. Niall only tried to hide his face behind his monkey teddy, as though he was petrified of Liam. Liam immediately knew what he was faced with. He knew Niall occasionally slipped into a headspace, but he had never once experienced it and saw Niall like this. The sighting was foreign to him. Even after all those years in the band, Niall had never fallen into his headspace while in the presence of the boys.

Dubiously walking over and leaning down next to Niall, he placed a hand on Nial’s knee; he flinched and attempted to cower away. “Niall, what’s wrong?” He questioned, frowning slightly. A solicitous expression etched his features. His eyes then widened when he saw the side of Niall’s face. It was all bruised and it looked as though somebody’s fist had collided with his cheek. “Niall, who did this to you?” Liam gasped quietly, reaching out and stroking Niall’s cheek, who in response, whimpered quietly and shied away.

Liam frowned slightly watching Niall’s body shiver, reaching out and touching Niall’s hand, he shivered himself. It was cold to the touch. It was only then he realised how cold the house really was. As he eyed Niall’s frail body, it dawning on him how malnourished the smaller boy really looked. “How long have you been here..” Liam whispered more to himself than Niall.

Niall’s lower lip trembled and tears began running down his cheeks again. The tears pooled at the side of his mouth, mixing with the saliva that was there as his face screwed up. “Oh babe.” Liam cooed and pulled him to his chest. Niall’s trembling frame flinched significantly and his cries grew louder, as though it hurt for Liam to embrace him.

Pulling up Niall’s t-shirt slightly, he immediately let it fall again when he saw the side of his stomach. The skin was tainted a blueish, purplish colour and looked painful to touch. He shook his head in disbelief and stood up again, glancing down at the young lad and observing how vulnerable he really looked.

In that moment, he had a decision to make. He knew that Niall’s mother and father were obviously not taking proper care of him during this fragile time. He had a choice to make. He could: 

  1. Leave and act as though he saw nothing. 
  2. Wait for Niall's parents to come home and ask them what the hell is going on. 
  3. Or, he could take Niall with him before anybody returned. 



Biting on his lip, Liam held a hand out to Niall. “Come on, I’m taking you home with me,” He firmly spoke.

Niall peered up at him dubiously, frightful eyes casting from one place to another. He didn’t move. Liam sighed quietly to himself before leaning down again. He latched his arms under Niall’s armpits and pulled him up as gently as he could, so not to hurt him anymore.

Niall whimpered quietly as Liam stood him on his feet, only to realise how unsteady Niall was. He wondered how long he had been crouched there as his legs were dead under him. He kept a grip on Niall, attempting to steady him but his body just went limp in Liam’s hands, causing Liam to have to act quick so neither of them tumbled.

“Oh Ni,” He shook his head as he picked him up. He sighed as it set in how light Niall really was. He lifted him with ease onto his hip, which wasn’t normal for someone in their adolescent years. Niall was always small built, but even more so now.

He held Niall up with one hand on his bottom steadying him. Niall rested his head on Liam’s shoulder, pushing his teddy between his body and Liam’s in a protective manner. “You’re safe now buddy, I’ve got you,” Liam whispered, planting a delicate kiss on the top of his head.


	2. Chapter 2

Once off the plane Liam found it rather difficult as Niall was not cooperating. He was feeling rather lethargic, famished and perched, resulting in his ~~undesire to wal~~ k - inability to walk.

“Hey Ni, do you think you can walk for me?” Liam questioned, leaning down on his hutches next to Niall who was sat on the floor of the airport, looking quite vulnerable. _No audible response._ Niall peered up at him with protruding eyes before casting them to the ground again.

Sighing to himself, Liam put both bags on his back, putting their hoods up before picking up Niall and hastily making his way out of the airport, attempting not to be seen by any inevitable fans.

Once home, he carried Niall inside to where Louis was awaiting their arrival. Liam had text him as he didn’t quite know what he was going to do with Niall and he needed the support. He was still unaware if this predicament was a serious one or not.

“Hi, Niall," Louis smiled as they entered the kitchen. Niall peered over Liam’s shoulder at Louis a fearful glance covering his features as he clutched his teddy tight. “Can he speak?” Louis asked Liam.

“I don’t really know," Liam mumbled in response. “He hasn’t spoke or responded to me in any manner yet,” He sighed as did Louis. He gently sat Niall down at the kitchen table, kneeling down next to him. “You hungry, buddy?” He asked him, to which Niall immediately nodded. It was the first response Niall had given him. Smiling softly to himself, he stood up to go get Niall something to eat.

He made the most convenient thing he could think of: grilled cheese, which he presented to Niall along with a glass of water. Niall’s eyes lit up as they met the food in front of him. He picked up the sandwich and immediately began to nibble on it. he had finished his food in a matter of minutes and once he had, he picked up the glass of water with both hands. They shook as he brought it up to his mouth, the glass clattering against his teeth. He tilted the glass in an effort to move the liquid to his mouth, although he misjudged how far he should tilt the glass, resulting in him tilting it too far and spilling it down his front.

“Ni, don’t tilt it too far, Bud,” Louis aided him in getting the correct angle with the cup. He kept a hand steadying the glass until Niall was finished and then placed the empty glass back on the table for him.

“Jeez, he was hungry and thirsty,” Liam said, feeling rather guilty he hadn’t feed him earlier than now. Louis nodded in agreement and took the used dishes to the sink while Niall sat silently, cuddling his teddy.

Suddenly, a worried look carved his features and he clutched his teddy tighter, whining quietly.”What’s wrong?” Liam immediately questioned. Niall glanced up at him with petrified eyes, not responding, although the dribbling sound did. Liam glanced down and saw something was dribbling onto the floor from Niall's seat in an almost steady stream. For a moment he thought it was the water Niall had spilt, then reality struck him when he realised he couldn’t have split _that_ much water. He was most certainly peeing.

He looked to Louis with wide eyes, Louis’ mirroring his. Soon Niall’s soft cries were echoing in the room, his frame trembling as he attempting to hide behind his teddy.

“Hey Ni, don’t cry," Liam stammered, not quite sure how to react if he was honest. “It was an accident, it’s okay.” He came over and rubbed Niall’s back gently, resulting in him flinching and whining once again. “Come on, you can get cleaned up and into bed,” Liam said before helping Niall to a stance, only to have him go limp in his arms again. Sighing, Liam picked him up and placed him on his hip, trying not to cringe at the wet feeling. He now had his friend's wee on him. _Great_ , he thought.

“Come with me," Liam muttered to Louis who nodded, grabbing Niall’s bag and following them up to the bathroom. He sat Niall on the bathroom floor as he filled the bathtub with water.

“Hey, can you get out of your clothes and into the bath yourself?” Louis asked Niall who returned a bemused glance, his eyes still watering. Tears began cascading down his cheeks as his lower lip trembled.

“Wan’ go ‘ome," He hiccuped, clutching his teddy to his chest. This made both Liam and Louis’ eyes widen. _It was the first time he had spoken_.

“Oh, Niall,"” Louis sighed, reaching forward and rubbing Niall’s back gently. He flinched and whimpered quietly, tensing up. “You can’t go home. They were hurting you but you’re safe now. Liam and I are gonna get you nice and clean and then into bed," ” Louis informed him while Niall just cried quietly, hiccuping every few minutes.

As Liam filled the tub, Louis aided Niall in taking off his clothes. His mouth dropped open when he saw all the bruising all over Niall’s body. Whimpering quietly, he knew this was causing a lot of pain to the young lad. He left him sitting on the floor in his damp boxers, a shiver running up Niall’s spine as he sat awaiting further instruction. Some moments later, Liam declared the bath full and told Niall he could bathe himself that they would be back in ten minutes to check on him.

Ten minutes passed and Liam returned with a warm towel, just out of the dryer. A deep frown creased his features when he saw Niall in the same position, clutching his teddy bear. “Niall, do you need help?” Liam tentatively questioned to which Niall nodded, sniffling quietly. “Oh Bud, you should have just said,” He sighed, going over and making sure the water hadn’t cooled too much before getting Niall into the bath.

He avoided looking at Niall’s privates, although they had seen one another naked in the past it just felt oddly strange now.. _**very** strange._

“Niall, you gotta give me your teddy now, otherwise he’s going to get wet,” Liam gently told Niall as he soaked the washcloth. Niall shook his head vigorously and only held onto it tighter. “Niall, come on give me it,” Liam said, more snappily than he intended to. Niall peered up at him rather petrified but still refused to hand over the teddy. Liam sighed and snatched it out of his grip then, feeling rather guilty but he wanted to get this over with as quickly as he could. He dropped the teddy to the floor and then proceeded to wash Niall’s body. Immediately Niall’s bottom lip trembled and cries were audible in the room.

Liam endeavoured to ignore Niall’s cries although the made him rather guilt ridden. He hastily ran the washcloth over any part of his body not submerged in water (thankfully his privates were). One he had completely that, he lifted Niall out of the tub and wrapped him in a towel. Niall grabbed his teddy and glowered at Liam for taking it off him.

“I’m sorry Niall,” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He knew he hadn’t done the right thing, but at the same time, he was not accustomed to this situation and didn’t really know how to handle it. Shaking his head, he dried off Niall, aiding him in getting dressed before taking him to the spare room.

He tucked Niall into bed and sat down next to him on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry if you’re scared. I couldn’t leave you where you were.” He stroked Niall’s bruised cheek gently. "You’re here with me now and you’re safe. I’ll try my best with you, I can promise you that," He whispered before leaving the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your support on the last chapter! It was highly appreciated! i hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did, please drop me a kudo's and a little comment, it would mean a lot :) Thanks for reading, I love you all so much!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't edited this yet so please excuse any mistakes :)

Liam awoke early in the morning, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the balls of his hands. He yawned before his eyes widened, remembering about Niall and hastily making his way to the spare room to check on him, he had almost forgotten he was here.

Upon entering, he found Niall sitting on the bed, cuddling his teddy and looking rather feared. His body was trembling and Liam was unaware whether that was due to fear or because he may have been cold. He noted to put the heating on later, the house was rather chilly.

“Morning Niall,” He smiled as he walked in. Niall cowered in response and hid his face behind his teddy, soft cries audible in the room. It was just then Liam noticed it looked as though Niall hadn’t slept a wink. With red-rimmed eyes and bags under his eyes. “Hey, why are you crying?” Liam sat next to Niall, taking one of Niall’s hand into his. Niall’s hand trembled in his and his cries got louder before he gripped Liam’s hand tightly.

“Sowry.” Niall hiccuped, tears rolling down his cheeks. “No owies, pease,” Niall cried which made Liam rather concerned.

“What are you talking about Niall?” Liam questioned, reaching out and wiping some of the tears off Niall’s cheeks. He flinched and continued to cry.

“No hitting," He cried which made Liam’s eyes widen.

“I would never hit you, why would I hit you?” Liam questioned. Niall didn’t respond, instead just sobbed quietly next to Liam. Soon, the realisation hit Liam as did the smell. Niall had evidently wet the bed. Sighing quietly, Liam told him it was okay, pulling Niall to his chest for a hug before helping him onto his feet. He was surprised when Niall stood on his own and walked next to Liam to the bathroom.

He helped Niall change and clean off before leading him downstairs for breakfast. While Niall nibbled on the toast Liam provided him with, he spoke to Louis who had just arrived to see how they were doing.

“Why does he keep wetting himself," Liam sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Because he has a toddler mindset. He can’t even drink out of a cup, I’m beginning to think he needs nappies," Louis said, making Liam bit on his lip and peer over at him. _As much as he wanted to care for Niall, he did not want to be changing his nappies._

Niall picked up the glass of milk Liam had set out for him, gripping it with two hands. He tilted it and was rewarded with the taste of milk which got him rather excited as he hadn’t had it in a long time. He misjudged his tilting angle and ended up with milk all down his front, although he continued to drink. He spilled more on himself than he actually drank but Niall appeared quite elated, the excitement of getting something other than water, distracting him from the mess.

Liam sighed as he watched Niall, knowing he would have to clean him up. He looked to Louis who was watching rather concerned before he knelt down on his hunches so he was almost level with Niall.

“Hey Ni,” Louis began, taking the dripping glass from Niall’s hands and leaving it on the table. “Where do we go wee?” Louis asked Niall to which he just watched Louis, looking rather puzzled. He frowned and sighed as Niall just looked befuddled, milk dribbling down his chin. “Do you need a nappy Niall?” Louis asked as he reached forward and wiped Niall’s chin. Niall nodded silently, breathing heavily as the cloth Louis was using wiped around his mouth.

“There’s your answer,” Louis mumbled, looking back at Liam who was running a hand down his face.

“I’ll text Harry to go get some supplies. He has no shame," Liam muttered as he took out his phone, typing a text to Harry. He told him Niall had slipped into the headspace he had once spoken about, asking Harry if he could get some nappies as well as some more new clothes for Niall, considering Liam had put his last set of clean clothes on him this morning and he already had them covered in milk.

Louis took Niall’s shirt off him, helping him out of his trousers before he got one of Liam’s large jumpers and putting him in that. He smiled down at him once dressed. He looked so innocent and vulnerable with his sweater paws and the hood up. Half an hour later Harry arrived with bags in his hands. Liam’s eyes widened when he saw how much Harry had actually purchased.

“Jesus, did you buy the whole shop?” Liam chuckled as Harry set down the bags.

“No, just what I thought Niall might need," He smiled, opening the bags and taking out some of the items. “Here are the nappies, I got a few sizes.” He told us, placing them on the table. “I got some bottles and dummies," He took out a few bottles along with adult sized dummies. Liam decided not to ask where he found these. “I didn’t know if he needed them but I thought he might if he’s in a headspace,” Harry told us as Niall’s eyes lit up.

“Doh-di!” He exclaimed, bouncing up and down on his bum when he spotted the dummies Harry had.

“You want one, Niall?” Harry questioned, smiling down at him to which Niall nodded his head frantically and made grabbing motions for the dummy. Harry took a blue one out of the packet, rinsing it before handing it to an eagerly awaiting Niall. Niall put it into his mouth before clutching his teddy and crawling out of the room. They all watched fondly, smiling at how adorable he looked.

“Also got him clothes,” Harry said, pulling Liam out of the trance he had been in, watching Niall leave. Liam opened the bag of clothes and frowned when he saw a copious amount of onesies.

“Onesies?” He raised an eyebrow at Harry.

“Well, if he’s a little he has to look the whole part and wear adorable onesies,” Harry gave Liam a sappy grin. Liam rolled his eyes fondly and took scavenge through the beg before peering at the packages of nappies tentatively. “You should probably put one of those on him as soon as,” Harry declared, pointing toward the package Liam was hesitant towards.

“Me?!” He almost exclaimed. “Why me?”

“Because you kidnapped him,” Louis intervened, chuckling quietly.

“I took him away from an abusive home. I wouldn’t call that kidnapping," Liam folded his arms, feeling rather offended as he had only been trying his hardest.

"Adult-napping then," Louis shrugged.

“We’re kidding with you.” Harry rolled his eyes. “No need to take us so seriously,” He teased. Liam sighed and grabbed a packet of the smallest size nappies Harry had purchased, taking one out and going to hunt Niall down.

“Niall?” He called out, peering around the living room. He saw a foot peeking out from being the couch. He walked over and soon found Niall sitting behind the couch, cuddling his teddy and sucking on his new dummy happily.

“Nappy?” Liam held it up rather nervously, hoping Niall knew what he meant. Much to his relief, Niall lay down on the floor, spreading his legs as though he was accustomed to the drill. Liam smiled before kneeling down in front of Niall and then scrunching up his face a little. He was not looking forward to getting this up-close and personal with his mates willy.

He pulled down the boxers Niall had been wearing and was just thankful he hadn’t soiled them in any way. Once they were down, he tried his hardest not to focus his vision on Niall’s cock, although he found it rather difficult considering he had to look to line the nappy up.

He watched Niall’s facial expressions, he seemed rather unfazed as Liam carried out this dubious task, sucking contently on his dummy. Telling him to lift his hips, Niall did as he was told and Liam placed the folded nappy under his bum. Once he did, he gulped as he saw Niall’s cock hanging to one side. Would this cause the nappy to leak? Fighting his instincts he quickly flicked his penis so it moved to a more straight position, this caused giggles to erupt from Niall which made Liam’s expression light up. It was the first time he had giggled or laughed. Liam felt a blush rise up his cheeks before he just quickly pulled the front of the nappy up over Niall’s crotch and then taped it shut.

“Done,” He smiled at Niall who had stopped giggling and was just suckling on the teat of his dummy. “Maybe I’ll not be too bad at this,” He mumbled more to himself than to Niall.

...  
Niall sat silently behind the couch, avoiding everybody else in the house. Liam had left once he’d completed putting his nappy on, although Niall wasn’t complaining as he preferred to be on his own anyway.

He sucked quietly on his dummy, rubbing the matted fur of his teddy bear against his cheek in a comfort mechanism. Just a few days ago he was alone in his home, scared. His father was tired of Niall in his mindset, he thus began neglecting him. Anytime he wet himself he told him to grow up and would slap him or punch him in another part of his body which wasn’t yet bruised. When his father stormed into the house, stomping up the stairs to go check on him, Niall was just awaiting the lecture that he was good for nothing, yet again. Once he would have been finished taking his anger out on Niall, he would plop back on the worn out couch downstairs in front of the fire, leaving Niall to sit in the damp corner of his room.

As time progressed, Niall grew quite accustomed to this daily routine, so when Liam took him from his home, it unsettled him. He didn’t know who he could trust anymore, but he knew by Liam’s gentle way or catering to him, that he was safe. He finally felt safe around Liam. Once he heard Liam utter those words ‘I’d never hit you” he trusted him.

A while later, Harry entered the room to check on Niall, he frowned when he saw him behind the couch. “What are you doing there buddy?” Harry asked, kneeling down in front of Niall. Niall was still rather unsure in front of Harry, although he knew him for years, two-year-old Niall didn’t recognise him.

He smiled softly at Niall and sat cross-legged in front of him. “You like your dummy?” Harry asked as he watched it bob in Niall’s mouth. Suddenly it stopped bobbing and he glanced up at Harry, nodding before continuing to suck on the teat.

“What’s your teddy’s name?” Harry asked, desperate to get a word out of Niall. He stayed silent. “Has he not got a name?” Harry gently questioned, reaching out and tugging at the teddy’s ear. Niall protectively held it against his chest and then curled in on himself.

Liam entered the room then and was more than baffled when Niall immediately ran to him and clung onto his leg. He peered down at Niall incredulously and then back at Harry as if saying what did you do? Liam took a seat on the couch and Niall crawled up next to him, curling up into his side, hiding his face in Liam’s shirt.

“Well, I’m only slightly offended," Harry chuckled, sitting down across from the two boys. Niall peered over at him before looking up at Liam and then burying his face in Liam’s shirt again. He placed a hand on his back and began to rub soothing circles on it. Niall’s back arched into his touch. Liam smiled softly to himself, liking the fact Niall was depending on him for comfort and for once, he didn’t flinch or cower away.  
... Louis ordered takeout for dinner as none of the three of them held a desire to cook. He wasn’t really sure what Niall would want to eat so he just ordered him some chicken nuggets and chips. Who doesn’t like chicken nuggets? 

When it arrived he led Niall to the kitchen and sat him on one of the chairs. His pale skinny legs dangled as he glanced around curiously at what everyone was doing. Liam set down Niall’s plate in front of him, although he didn’t seem to find what was on the plate too palatable. He nibbled on one chicken nugget and then set it down half eaten. 

“Ni, don’t you like it?” Liam asked him, raising an eyebrow at him. “You gotta eat up,” He said to which Niall shook his head and shoved his dummy back in his mouth. He looked to the other two boys who just shrugged, nobody really knowing how to address the situation. Liam decided not to push it and didn’t force him to eat. 

When everyone had finished eating, Niall crawled after Liam to the living room. He sat on the rug with his legs spread, placing his teddy between them, turning his attention to the telly Liam had just switched on. 

About ten minutes into the show they were watching, Niall’s hands shoved between his legs, grabbing his nappy. His face relaxed physically as his nappy grew warm between his hands, expanding slowly as he filled it. 

When he was finished, all three boys were watching him. He wriggled around on his bum and then scrunched his face up, conveying to the boys he didn’t like the feeling. He never liked the feeling of a used nappy, even as a toddler, as soon as he wet or soiled his nappy he was whining to his mother to change it. 

Before any of the boys could react he was whining quietly and soon his whines turned to soft cries. His nose scrunched up and he soon bowed his head tears falling onto his teddy. Louis nudged Liam as though telling him to go tend to him. 

Liam dubiously stood up and knelt down next to Niall. “Come on, let’s get you changed and into your pajamas," Liam offered, picking up the dummy Niall had dropped onto the floor while he had been crying. 

“Someone come help,” Liam said so Louis took a stance and followed Liam who was carrying a crying Niall upstairs. Liam cringed as his hand pressed against the warm nappy. 

Louis grabbed a nappy, some wipes and power as well as a onesie for Niall, setting them on Liam’s bed. Liam laid Niall down on the bed, running a hand through his hair. He gently sat Niall up and pulled off the sweater of Liam’s Niall had on him. He frowned slightly when he saw Niall had dribbled all down the front of it. Once the sweater was off, he put Niall’s dummy back in his mouth in an effort to soothe his cries. Much to his surprise, Niall immediately began sucking on the dummy and his cries were ceased. 

Liam then scrunched up his nose when he saw the saturated nappy he was met with. Fighting his instincts, he knew he had to get it over and done with. He undid the tabs of the nappy and pulled it out from under Niall. He rolled it up and let it fall to the ground with a thud. He then grabbed a wipe from the packet and began to wipe the residue of urine off Niall. He hesitated wiping Niall’s cock but knew it was inevitable. He hastily wiped it down before throwing the soiled wipes on top of the nappy. 

He glanced to gauge Niall’s reaction but he just continued to suck contentedly on his dummy, his eyelids fluttering open and closed. Once that grueling task was complete he grabbed the new nappy, sliding it under Niall’s bum. He made sure his bits were in the right place before he taped the nappy shut. 

Louis then handed him the onesie, which was a fluffy blue one with spaceships al over it. Liam sat Niall up, aiding him in getting his body into the onesie, once it was, he zipped it up and smiled down at Niall who was leaning against him rather sleepily. 

“Well done,” Louis smiled to Liam as Liam picked Niall up and carried him back downstairs. Niall rested his head on Liam’s shoulder, his teddy suffocating between their bodies as per usual. He set him down on the couch as Harry entered the room, producing a bottle in his hand filled with milk. 

“Want milk?” Liam asked Niall who instinctively opened his eyes as though milk was a buzzword for him. He nodded frantically and held his hands out for a bottle. Harry handed him it and he spat out his dummy, replacing it with the nipple of the bottle. 

He looked to Liam and showed him a small smile from behind the bottle before his eyes adverted to the telly. Liam watched him fondly, observing how his eyes began to flutter closed and soon he was unable to keep them open. The half full bottle dropped from his hands as he fell asleep. 

“He’s so cute,” Louis smiled, reaching over and picking up the bottle as milk was dribbling out of it onto Niall’s sleeper. Liam put Niall’s dummy into his mouth before gently picking him up and carrying him upstairs to the spare bedroom. He tucked Niall into the bed and leaned down, kissing his forehead. He watched as Niall stirred in his sleep but stayed sleeping, looking rather content. Smiling at Louis and Harry who were behind him, observing the scene fondly. He then stood up and left the room, feeling all warm inside. He liked the feeling of being needed. And he didn’t know why...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much for your support so far! It's highly appreciated, so here's a chapter that's a little longer!!! If you have any suggestions or requests, please put them down below in the comments section!


	4. Chapter 4

Niall awoke in the middle of the night, whining quietly as he peered around the room. He detested being on his own. Sitting up in his bed he patted around on the bed in search for his dummy. Once his hand collided with the rubber teat, he picked it up and put it into his mouth. He grabbed his teddy bear, getting out of bed and crawling out of his room. He peered around the dimly lit hallway rather anxiously, whining behind his dummy. He wanted to find Liam but he wasn’t sure of his bearings and therefore didn’t quite know where Liam’s room was. He made his way into the first room he met which happened to be Liam’s office. He got up on his knees, turning on the light and peering around. His eyes immediately lit up when they were met with a teddy on one of the shelves on the wall that Liam’s desk was up against.

He immediately crawled over, dropping his own teddy and climbing up on the desk chair. It swivelled a bit. He steadied himself and then climbed on top of the desk. Once on it, he stood up and grabbed the teddy. He squealed as he cuddled it to his chest. Although, he got too excited and as he began to get down, slipped on some papers on the desk, resulting in him falling off the desk onto his back.

He screamed and then began to cry immediately, pain resonating throughout his body as his already bruised back coiled with the chair before colliding with the carpet.

Niall’s scream awoke Liam from his slumber. His eyes shot open and he sat up in bed, peering around the room as he didn’t know if what he heard was in real life or in his dream. Then, he heard a crash which was evidently Niall falling to the ground before he heard Niall’s cries muffled from down the hall.

His heart immediately began to race and he stood up, running down the hall to where light was filtering through the door; the only room with lights on. He pushed open the door and immediately ran to Niall, kneeling down next to him and gently picking him up.

“What were you doing?!” Liam asked through Niall’s cries, rubbing his back as he picked him up. He rocked Niall gently over and back in his arms as he paced the room, trying to soothe his cries. A hand went to Niall’s hair and Liam ran his fingers through it as he gently shushed Niall.

After a few minutes, Niall’s cries got softer and soon turned to sniffles. As soon as he stopped crying completely, Liam checked his body for any signs of injury, assuming then his cries were more due to the shock of what happened.

Liam then saw his teddy on the floor, which was generally on the shelf. He soon put two and two together and sighed quietly. It was his teddy from when he was a kid so he didn’t really want Niall drooling all over it, _as mean as that was to say_. He picked up Niall’s teddy and his dummy and then left the room, closing the door behind him. He carried Niall back to his room, deciding that he would rather keep an eye on him for the rest of the night, in case he decided to wander around again.

He set Niall down on his bed before getting in next to him. He popped his dummy in his mouth and Niall tiredly rubbed at his eyes as he sucked on it, his footed toes curling. “Okay, let’s stay in bed now. Sleep,” Liam told him as he pulled the covers up over them.

Niall peered over at him, cuddling his teddy. Liam smiled softly at how innocent he appeared. Niall showed him a small smile behind his dummy before shuffling closer to Liam and resting his head on Liam’s chest. In that moment Liam felt needed and it made him feel _warm_ inside.

…

In the morning he was patted awake by Niall peering down at him. Liam jumped as he woke up which also caused Niall jump. “What time is it?” He balled his fists and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He looked at the clock on his bedside locker, groaning when it was only eight-thirty.

“Niall, it’s like the middle of the night, why are you waking me up?” Liam groaned, flopping back on his pillow. Putting his hands over his face, he sighed quietly, looking up at Niall through his fingers then.

“Wee," Niall grumbled from behind his dummy, his hands going to his crotch and grabbing it.

“You need a wee?” Liam raised his eyebrows at Niall who just sucked on his dummy. Liam faced palmed himself then, knowing Niall wasn’t going to tell him he needed a wee. He sighed quietly and stood up, getting a clean nappy from the pack and telling Niall to lay down again. Once he did, Liam unzipped his onesie and undid the nappy. He frowned when he noticed it was still warm meaning he had obviously woken Liam up right away or did it just as Liam woke up. Well, Niall’s never going to get a nappy rash anyway, he thought to himself.

He wiped down Niall, skipping over his cock really because he didn’t quite want to touch it. He zipped Niall’s onesie up again once he had a new nappy on him and was about to crawl into bed again when Niall whined.

“Mi-mi," He mumbled to Liam behind his dummy, looking up at him through his eyelashes.

“Mi-mi?” Liam repeated, raising his eyebrows at Niall, getting a little agitated now because he only wanted to sleep.

“M-mi,” Niall started to cry, his dummy falling out of his mouth along with a trail of drool. Liam cringed a little, scrunching his nose as Niall’s drool pooled on his sleeper. “Mi-mi,” Niall repeated in sobs. Liam sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. The most coherent thing to ‘mi-mi’ he could think of was milk so he went and made Niall a bottle of milk.

He brought it upstairs to a still crying Niall, who’s cries immediately stopped as soon as his eyes met the bottle. He made grabby hands and took it gratefully. “Ta," He mumbled through the nipple of the bottle. If Liam hadn’t of been so tired he would have smiled.

Collapsing back down on the bed, he closed his eyes and attempted to get back to sleep but Niall was sucking obnoxiously loudly which distracted Liam. He groaned into his pillow and covered his ears, wishing in that precise moment he wasn’t caught in this predicament.

Liam awoke a while later, not even remembering falling asleep. He glanced to Niall who was still sucking on the bottle even though it had been long finished. He took the bottle out of Niall’s hands, earning a whine from him.

“Come on, I’ll get you another one with your breakfast,” Liam offered, standing up and holding his hand out for Niall to come take it. He grabbed his dummy and teddy before standing up and taking Liam’s hand, following him downstairs to the kitchen, his footed feet padding against the floor. Liam frowned when he saw him limping, wondering what that was all about. He just shrugged it off, assuming maybe it was the fact he was walking in a onesie or something.

He sat in the seat he had been sitting in these past two days and glanced to Liam, waiting for him to produce his breakfast. Liam brought him over some cereal, the same he was having. He set it in front of Niall who observed it rather cautiously. Liam frowned as Niall just sat and stared at it blankly for a few moments.

“Don’t you like it?” Liam inquired. Niall nodded, picking up his spoon and handing it to Liam. Liam gave a rather puzzled look but soon realised what Niall wanted when he held his mouth open. _He wanted to be spoon fed_. He sighed quietly but began to spoon the cereal into the younger lads mouth.

Niall chewed happily, smiling timidly at Liam before opening his mouth again for more. Liam spooned some cereal into Niall’s mouth and while Niall was chewing, he would eat some of his own. He got into the rhythm after a few minutes.

Niall finished half the bowl before he was moving away from the spoon Liam was holding up. “Come on, eat up," Liam offered the spoon again but Niall shook his head and bowed his head, pushing his face into the matted fur of his teddy. “Enough?” He raised an eyebrow and Niall nodded.

Niall slid down onto the floor and got into a crawling position before immediately whimpering and moving onto his bottom. Liam frowned but went back to finishing his breakfast while Niall bum shuffled over to the fridge.

He stood himself up and grabbed the empty bottle Liam had forgotten to fill. Falling back down on his bottom, he whined quietly as it hurt from last night when he fell. “Mi-mi!” He exclaimed, waving the bottle in the air. Liam chuckled quietly before coming over and filling his bottle up, putting it in the microwave for a few seconds, shaking it and then handing it to an eagerly awaiting Niall.

“Ta," Niall giggled before sucking on the nipple of the bottle happily. Just as Liam sat down to finish his breakfast, Harry arrived; with bags in hand.

“Oh God, what have you got now?” Liam asked, running a hand down his face. Harry chuckled and sat down on the floor, cross-legged in front of the bags which Niall was eyeing curiously.

He began taking the items out of the bag. He had brought an ample amount of nappies, a blue potty for Niall. A copious amount of bottles, dummies, plastic bowls and plastic cutlery. He had also brought more onesies as well as some bibs. Then, in the final bag he brought out toys for Niall, including Lego, toy cars and building blocks, colouring things and some baby puzzles, such as shape sorting and jigsaw puzzles, which had Niall looking rather excited.

“‘Ego!” Niall bounced up and down on his bum, pointing to the bag of duplo lego, or in simpler terms, giant lego for smaller children.

“Wanna play?” Harry asked Niall, smiling softly. Niall suddenly grew timorous and shied away, his bottle falling from his mouth, milk dripping down the side of his mouth and pooling on his sleeper.

Liam smiled when he saw Niall shuffle forward on his bottom, dropping his bottle which rolled on the kitchen floor. Liam picked that up and left it near him so he could get it if he wanted to. He then watched as Harry unzipped the bag and Niall immediately emptied the whole thing out on the floor, squealing excitedly. He giggled and picked up a few blocks of Lego, smiling brightly at Liam.

Once Liam realised Niall was content with Harry he took this to his advantage and decided to take a shower. He spent ages in the shower, just kind of wanting to be alone for a while.

He returned almost an hour later and Niall and Harry had moved on from the Lego and were now in the living room colouring in, toys scattered all over the room now. Liam noted to himself that he needed to get a box to put all Niall’s toys into now.

“Hey bud, come here,” Liam held his hands out to Niall. “Let’s get you out of that onesie," He said, to which Niall whined because he didn’t want to stop colouring. His onesie was covered in drool and milk, which Liam also noted he should put a bib on him.

“Go on, we can play once you’re in clean clothes again,” Harry smiled at Niall. Niall whined but wriggled on his bum to Liam who picked him up and lay him on the couch. He unzipped the onesie, sighing quietly when he found Niall was wet.

“Couldn’t you have changed him,” Liam grumbled as he stood up to go get the nappy supplies.

“I didn’t know he was wet," Harry defended as Niall whined and wriggled around then. He had obviously been having so much fun playing he hadn’t realised he was wet and now he had he just began to cry thrashing around on the sofa. Harry quickly got to his side, preventing him from rolling off the side of it.

Once Liam returned he took off Niall’s onesie and was shocked when he saw his knee. It was badly bruised and swollen, red and looked considerably painful. To Liam, it looked as though he had dislocated it and it went back into place itself.

“Ni, your knee," Liam gasped, gently touching it which made Niall cry out and just sob loudly, tears running down his cheeks. He looked to Harry who returned a befuddled glance. Neither of them knew what to do.

Deciding Niall most certainly wanted to be changed first, he took off Niall’s nappy and rolled it up, dropping it to the floor. As soon as Liam had taken it off Niall attempted to sit up but Harry held him down, knowing Liam had to get another nappy on him.

“Owies," Niall hiccuped, sobbing loudly, almost screaming as Harry held him down. Liam didn’t even wipe him off, he just quickly taped another nappy on Niall and then pulled him onto his lap, rubbing his bruised back gently in an effort to soothe him.

Harry went and got some ice for his knee, coming back and placing it on it. He sobbed even louder and tried to wriggle away, screaming every few seconds as well. The ice began to work its magic and soon Niall cries got softer. Harry pushed Niall’s dummy between his red, moist lips, which had tear residue on them. Niall immediately began to suck and his cries soon turned to hiccups as he calmed down.

“You’re okay," Liam pushed his damp hair off his forehead as his swollen eyes began fluttering open and shut. A few moments later he was sleeping in Liam’s arms. He gently shifted him off his lap and left him lying on the couch, sitting the icepack on his knee before covering him with a blanket. When he realised he hadn’t his teddy, Liam hunted it down and left it next to him.

“I think he needs to see a doctor about that knee, it looks painful,” Harry commented.

“A doctor?!” Liam incredulously exclaimed. “How can we take him to see a doctor while he’s in his headspace?! They’ll think he’s crazy!”

“No, they won’t,” Harry confirmed. “Doctors understand that this is a condition and some people’s coping mechanisms. I’m sure they see it often. He needs to go Liam, we can’t have him in pain,” Harry stated. Liam bit his lip, his eyes switching positions every few seconds. As much as he hated seeing Niall in pain, he was not looking forward to going out in public with him.

…

 

The following morning, Liam was awoken by Niall patting him on the shoulder. He looked at his clock. Five o’clock; he groaned. “Wet.” Niall shyly spoke with his hands between his legs.

“Niall, go back to sleep. I’ll change you before we go to the doctors,” Liam sighed, running a hand through his hair. He had made a doctors appointment for nine, so he planned to get up at seven to get Niall washed and ready to go. He decided he could wait two hours to change, considering he was probably just after wetting the nappy anyway.

“No, now,” Niall demanded, wriggling on his bottom.

“For God sake Niall, I can’t change you twenty seconds after you wee every single time. Go back to sleep, you’re fine.” He turned on his side and went back to sleep while Niall just whined quietly.

Liam awoke a few hours later to Niall sobbing beside him. He groaned and rolled over, pushing his face into the pillow. “What’s wrong?” Liam questioned.

“Wet," Niall almost screamed, obviously agitated Liam had not changed him when he had asked him to earlier.

“For God sake, Niall, calm down I’ll change you now," Liam snapped, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

Liam left the room and went to get Niall’s supplies, coming back a few minutes later, Niall wriggling on the bed. Liam sighed deeply, pulling down Niall’s trousers and untaping the nappy. Once he did, he suddenly felt bad for yelling at Niall. Niall’s skin was tainted a red colour, his skin chafing all over his crotch area.

“Oh Ni, I’m so sorry,” Liam said, suddenly feeling extremely guilty he hadn’t changed Niall’s nappy when he had asked him to. He blatantly had sensitive skin. Very sensitive skin at that.

“Jesus, you have got sensitive skin," He whispered, reaching forward and gently touching the heated skin which made Niall scream. Wiping his forehead, Liam felt the guilt he was trying to suppress bubbling in his stomach. If he had have taken the nappy off Niall when he started whining, maybe he wouldn’t be in this predicament right now.

He sighed and grabbed a wipe to wipe the residue of urine off Niall but once the cold wipe touched Niall’s red-raw skin he immediately began screaming. Liam redrew his hand, his eyes widening.

“I’m so sorry Niall," He sighed deeply, grabbing another nappy from the bag. Niall shook his head and crawled onto Liam’s lap completely nude. It made Liam rather uncomfortable but he let him do as he wanted considering he felt so much guilt right now.

“Do you wanna go potty before we go?” Liam gently asked Niall, pointing to the potty sitting on the floor of the room, silently hoping he would start using the potty instead of nappies. At least then he wouldn’t be stuck with these rashes. Niall shook his head and buried his face in Liam’s chest. He sighed quietly but got Niall into his nappy and into a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, deciding it was the most decent thing he had for Niall he could dress him in for going out in public.

Once they both arrived at the doctor office, Liam pulled Niall’s dummy out of his mouth, pushing it into his pocket. He was not going to allow him to suck a dummy in public. He pulled up his and Niall’s hood, carrying him inside to the waiting room. He tried to get Niall to sit on his own but he refused, only wanting to sit on Liam’s lap.

After about ten minutes of waiting, Niall began to get rather restless on Liam’s lap. “Doh-di," He whined quietly into Liam’s chest. “Pease,”

“Sorry love, you can’t have it here,” Liam whispered, kissing the top of his head. Niall immediately began to cry. Sweat accumulated on Liam’s forehead as he glanced to the other woman in the room who was eyeing both of them oddly.

Much to Liam’s relief, Niall’s name was then called and so he hurried into the doctor office with him.

“Hello, Mr Horan, what seems to be the problem?” The doctor turned in his seat to face Niall as Liam carried him into the room. A frown etched his features and he adjusted his glasses on his nose Liam briefly explained the situation to him, about Niall’s mindset and was surprised to find he understood.

“So, can I have a look at your knee?” The doctor gently asked Niall who was cuddling his teddy he had refused to hand over to Liam before they left.

“Want doh-di," Niall muttered quietly.

“You can if you’re good and let the doctor look at you,” Liam told him, rubbing his back gently. Niall peered up at the doctor hesitantly as he spoke.

“Can you pull down your trousers for me?” He asked Niall. Liam urged him to do so himself but Niall sat still. Liam shimmied Niall’s sweatpants down his legs. The doctor noticed the white bulge of the nappy between his legs and wrote something down in Niall’s notes.

“Is he incontinent?” He asked Liam, who nodded. “Completely incontinent, or just for number one or number two’s?” He asked Liam who was rather taken aback by the question.

“Well, number one anyway. I don’t really know about number two yet,” Liam grimaced even at the thought of that.

“Okay," The doctor nodded and then proceeded to inspect Niall’s knee. “Definitely looks like he dislocated it. Do you know how he did that?”

“I assume it was last night. He fell off a desk,"” Liam muttered, his cheeks flaring up as he spoke because he felt like it was his fault it happened. If he had have kept a closer watch on Niall, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

“What were you doing on a desk?” The doctor teased Niall who giggled quietly, much to Liam’s surprise.

“Teddy!” He exclaimed, smiling brightly.

“There was a teddy in my office and he was trying to get it. It was the middle of the night, he was supposed to be sleeping but had other plans you could say,” Liam peered down at Niall, a small smile igniting his features as he watched Niall smile at the doctor.

“Well, I think you should maybe get something so he can’t leave the room, be it a crib or a gate at the door," The doctor suggested. “And as for you mister, you should be staying in bed at night,” The doctor teased again. Niall just giggled in response again, blatantly understanding what was being said.

“No,” Niall giggled, wriggling around on Liam’s lap and then whining because he twisted his knee which hurt.

“For the knee, I think I’ll prescribe some painkillers and make sure he has a knee brace on if he’s doing a lot of walking. Until the swelling goes down, try to get him to walk as little as he can, the knee needs some rest," The doctor said, Liam nodding, trying to take everything he was saying in.

“Okay, I can do that.” Liam nodded as he helped Niall back into his sweatpants. “Also, I forgot to tell you, Niall got a really bad nappy rash this morning and I just wanted to know if we could get something for that,” Liam remembered just as Niall’s sweatpants were half way up his legs.

“Oh, may I take a look?” He questioned. Liam nodded and opened Niall’s nappy, showing the doctor the chafed, red, raw skin.

“My, my Niall, you must have very sensitive skin.” The doctor commented. Niall sniffled quietly, soft cries soon coming from between his lips as he grew uncomfortable. “I’ll prescribe you some cream for that,” The doctor nodded. “You should definitely change his nappy as soon as you possibly can. It looks like he has very sensitive skin so we want to avoid this as much as we can," He said as he handed Liam a piece of paper with the prescriptions on it. “He’s going to have a lot of discomfort wetting the nappy, that’s going to sting badly so don’t be startled if he seems to be in pain," The doctor told Liam who nodded, taping up Niall’s nappy and then pulling up his sweatpants.

“Should we arrange Niall seeing a specialist or do you think he’s okay?” The doctor questioned, stupefying Liam. He wasn’t quite sure if Niall needed to see anyone, he was just kind of hoping he would come out of this mindset soon. But at the same time… _he kind of liked Niall like this_.

“It might be in his best interest. Just to make sure he’s mentally okay, well we know he’s not obviously but you know," The doctor shrugged.

“Yeah, maybe you should,” Liam said, looking to Niall in his lap who was chewing on his fingers. The doctor nodded and began typing on his computer before turning and smiling at Niall and Liam.

“I’ve sent the specialist an email so you should receive an appointment,” He told Liam before handing him a prescription for Niall’s painkillers and cream. Liam thanked him as he stood up with Niall, placing him on his hip.

Liam thanked the doctor before leaving. The two quickly left before they could gauge anybody’s reaction to Niall. Getting Niall into the car, Liam drove to the pharmacy to get Niall’s prescriptions as well as a knee brace.

Once home Niall was whining uncomfortably, wriggling on his bottom. “Hurts," He started crying and Liam felt a pang in his heart. It was basically his fault Niall had fallen and hurt his knee and now it was his fault he had a nappy rash. He felt like a terrible carer.

“I’m sorry I’m so bad at taking care of you,” He whispered. “I don’t really know what I’m doing but I’ll try harder from now on. I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! Thanks for reading! Hope you're enjoying this! Leave opinions/suggestions below please, they're highly appreciated !!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't edited this so please excuse any mistakes!!

Liam was thankful when he saw Louis had arrived after dinner. He smiled and greeted Niall who was sitting on the floor playing with his lego before he took a seat next to Liam.

“Louis. I’m so bad at looking after him.” Liam sighed deeply "He’s hurt his knee and has a nappy rash already," Guilt filled Liam’s eyes which cast to the ground, unable to look at Louis.

“Hey, don’t feel bad, my sisters used to get nappy rashes all the time. The clear up in a few days, it’s no big deal. And as for the knee, sure Niall’s always had bad knees so it’s no big deal," Louis chuckled, wanting to make his friend feel a little better.

“I know, but he asked me to change him and I yelled at him to go back to sleep. I feel so terrible," He ran a hand through his hair, the stress of this getting to him. The pressure of having to look after Niall was excerting enough on it’s own.

“Look, learn from your mistakes. You’re doing a great job with him Liam and you should honestly be so proud of yourself,” Louis smiled.

“I saved him from abuse only to bring him to more abuse,” Liam puffed out a breath.

Louis was interrupted before he could speak by Niall beginning to sob loudly from the floor. Liam’s head snapped to the side and he immediately moved to Niall’s side. “What’s wrong?” He questioned, rubbing Niall’s back gently as he sobbed loudly next to Liam. Liam remembered what the doctor had told him and suddenly realised Niall must have wet his nappy. “Oh Ni, did it hurt to go wee-wee?” Liam cooed to which Niall nodded, tears still cascading down his rosy cheeks and pooling at the side of his mouth with his saliva which soon began dribbling down his chin onto the shirt he wore.

Liam instructing him to lie down which Niall did and he quickly took Niall’s nappy off, wincing at the sight of his skin. He was beginning to bleed in places as well.

“Leave the nappy off him," Louis said. “My mum used to do that with my sisters, it’s more comfortable for them and the air is good for the rash.”

“Isn’t that risky?” Liam bit on his lip.

“Yeah, they sometimes had accidents but it’s better than watching him sob like that every time he goes for a wee," Louis pointed out. Liam debated it in his head for a moment. The worst case scenario was that Niall might wee on something, big deal he thought to himself. It can be cleaned up.

Retrieving the cream the doctor had given Liam, he came back to put it on Niall. “Where does this go? Just everywhere that’s red?” Liam asked Louis who nodded.

“Yep, put lots of it on. You can never have too much,” Louis nodded. Liam turned to Niall who was still laying on the floor, biting on his lip when he saw both his balls and penis were a red-raw colour as well. He swallowed the lump growing in his throat and reached forward once he had the some cream squeezed out on his fingers. He tentatively rubbed the skin around his bits first, rubbing it in there before moving to Niall’s cock. He hesitantly began rubbing cream on it, before reaching under and rubbing it on his balls, scrunching his nose up as he did. He had never rubbed another mans bits before. Well, there was a first time for everything.

Niall sobbed quietly as he done this, considering it hurt him, but once it was on a few moments, the cream began to take it’s effect and the stinging on Niall’s privates subdued. Liam relaxed physically when he saw Niall sit up and reach for his teddy and dummy. Once he had them he sat and turned his attention to the telly, which was playing Peppa Pig.

“Does that make you feel better?” Louis asked, reaching down and ruffling Niall’s hair. He nodded and peered up at Louis, smiling behind his dummy before turning back to the telly. Louis frowned as he saw Niall drooling onto his shirt, nudging Liam and pointing to him. Liam stood up and got a bib Harry had brought, tying it around Niall’s neck.

“There, problem solved,” He smiled as Niall turned and shot him a smile before averting his attention back to the telly. After the show had finished, he grew a little agitated and was whining to Liam, holding his hands out to him. Liam pulled him onto his lap and Niall immediately rested his head on his chest, gripping Liam’s shirt in his fist.

Louis left the room and came back a few moments later with a bottle of milk for Niall. Niall grinned and took it, spitting out his dummy and beginning to drink it with his head on Liam’s chest. Liam smiled down at him, putting his hand under Niall’s shirt and rubbing his back. Niall’s back arched into the touch. Liam smiled fondly and continued to rub circles on Niall’s back as he drank his milk.

He continued to suck on the bottle even after all the milk was gone, not moving probably because he was enjoying the back rub too much.

“Will you please come sit on the potty,” Louis said after a few more minutes. Niall shook his head, not wanting to move from Liam’s lap. “Come on, you just finished a whole bottle of milk, you must need a wee.” He said but Niall shook his head frantically.

“Niall, please go sit on the potty and try to go wee for us then I’ll rub your back again,” Liam said, shifting Niall up to a sitting position. Niall whined quietly but got down onto the potty Louis set below the couch.

He sat for a few moments, both boys watching. “Done," He held his hands out to Liam. “‘ub now.”

“Niall, do a wee first,” Louis held Liam back who was going to pick him up. Liam sat back down and watched Niall who whined, shaking his head and holding his hands out to Liam.

“Don’t gotta wee,” Niall said, smiling when Liam picked him up. He cuddled Liam and gave Louis a look then, as in hah, I won bitch. Louis rolled his eyes fondly and sat back.

“Okay, but you can clean up his wee," Louis shrugged to Liam, putting his hands up in defence. Liam sighed and sat down again with Niall, a little frightful he was going to wee on him but he went back to giving him a back massage either way. He just wanted to keep Niall content and happy now. He knew he had caused too may tears to fall down his cheeks and he just wanted to make him happy for once. He felt quite inadequate when taking care of him. He wanted to do a good job, but he just kept fucking up.

Some time later Harry arrived and as soon as he did, Niall sat upright and smiled brightly. “‘arry!” He squealed and slid down from Liam’s lap onto the carpeted floor beneath them. “Play!” He giggled and bum shuffled over to his toys Liam had put in a box in the corner of the room.

Harry smiled fondly and sat on the fluffy rug helping Niall pull the bag of Lego over. “Why is he nude from the waist down?” Harry chuckled, trying not to stare at Niall’s bits that were hanging out from under the shirt that covered half of them. He wasn’t going to admit it, but he did find it sort of awkward.

“He’s got a really bad nappy rash, so we’re giving it some air,” Liam replied, standing up to go make some food for everyone. While Liam did that, Harry sat playing with Niall, who was rather excited the whole time.

Twenty minutes later, Niall stuck his hands between his legs, grabbing his cock and peering around. “Li.” He whimpered. “Gotta wee.” He said which made Harry’s eyes widen because he was quite sure how to address the situation.

“Come on Ni, sit on the potty,” Louis urged, moving it next to him. Louis caught Niall under his armpits and hoisted him onto the potty. Niall peered up at the two boys rather hesitantly and let the first few drops dribble out, only to have them dribble onto the carpet. A strained look covered his features and Harry quickly pushed Niall’s cock so it was pointing down into the potty. He then allowed his stream to continue, it stuttered at first but then grew heavy and thudded against the plastic of the potty. He stared down, breathing heavily as he filled the potty below him.

Once his stream tampered, he dribbled for a few seconds and then glanced to the boys, a wide grin covering his features. “Well done Niall!” Louis commended, clapping his hands as Liam entered the room.

“Clever boy,” Liam smiled as he wiped his hands on the dishtowel he was holding. Niall giggled, his hands between his legs. Louis helped Niall off the potty while Liam got a wipe and came over, quickly wiping the residue of urine off the tip of Niall’s cock so he wouldn’t dribble on the carpet.

“You did so well,” Liam smiled, part of him hoping Niall would continue to use the potty now. Liam gave him a hug and then let him go back to playing with Harry.

Liam brought all the boys to the kitchen for dinner. Niall only ate a few bites and then whined for a bottle. Liam sighed quietly but got him one, wanting to keep him happy. Niall thanked him and then moved onto Liam’s lap to drink it. Liam held one arm around him and used the other one to eat his dinner.

After dinner, Liam carried a rather sleepy Niall to the living room after making him another bottle he had demanded. The three boys sat on the couch with Niall in between them, toy story playing on the telly.

Liam stood up and got his pyjamas and a nappy, coming back and spreading his legs. He put some cream on Niall’s skin before he taped the nappy on and helped him into his onesie. Liam sat down next to him and Niall curled on his lap, drinking his milk as he watched the movie.

Liam ran his hands through Niall’s hair, watching him as he sucked on the nipple of the bottle. He smiled softly as he observed how Niall was failing to keep his eyes open. They would shut for a few seconds then he would quickly open them again, only to have them flutter closed again. He was fighting sleep, but it eventually won and he fell asleep, milk dribbling down his chin. He smiled down at Niall, using the sleeve of his jumper to wipe Niall’s chin.

“The doctor was talking about me getting him a crib or some kind of gates the door so he can’t leave his room and cause trouble at night,” Liam told the boys. They both nodded but gave no verbal response. “What do you think I should do?” He asked them after a few moments of silence.

“Whatever feels right,” Louis shrugged.

…

The following morning Liam awoke with a start when Niall’s cries echoed throughout the room. He didn’t even question what was wrong with Niall, he instead, went downstairs, made Niall a bottle and came back upstairs with a clean nappy and cream in hand. He was getting into a routine... much to his surpsie. 

Niall immediately made grabby hands for the bottle. Liam handed it to him and watched as he began to suckle on the teat. He smiled softly at him before beginning to get to work on his nappy, putting some cream on his skin, which was looking a little better today. Niall still cried behind the nipple of his bottle as Liam applied the cream but calmed down once the new nappy was on him.

Liam collapsed on the bed next to him, smiling softly as he pulled Niall’s body to his chest. Niall curled around his body, snuggling his face into Liam’s chest. Liam’s hand rubbed circles on his back and he smiled fondly to himself, finding himself feeling warm inside with moments like these with Niall. ]

After the two finished cuddling and had breakfast, Liam got Niall dressed to go out. He had to go to the store to pick up some essentials and he wasn’t going to leave Niall home alone. Seeing the swelling in Niall’s knee had gone down, Liam helped him into his knee brace. Once it was on, Niall began running around as though nothing had ever happened to his knee. Liam smiled at this.

“Please stay close,” Liam instructed as he led Niall into the supermarket, keeping a tight grip on Niall’s hand. He grabbed a basket as he walked in the door and hone began to walk down the aisles he needed to go down for the items he required.

He knelt down at the bread aisle, picking out some bagels he thought Niall might like. He turned around to show Niall only to have panic set in, his stomach doing a somersault because Niall was nowhere to be seen in the aisle.

Sheer panic bubbled in his stomach and rose to the lump growing in his throat. he hastily hurried through the aisles. When he walked past the baby aisle, he reversed once he saw Niall’s blonde hair. He felt relief flow through him as he walked over to where Niall was sitting crosslegged on the floor, holding a pack of dummies in one hand and a little tykes tool kit in the other.

“Ni, put those back and stay close to me," Liam said as calmly as he could. He didn’t want to risk upsetting Niall, so he decided keeping his voice low and calm was the most applicable option.

“No, wan’ dummy and toy," He whined, clutching the two packages to his chest. Liam sighed quietly, peering around to make sure nobody was observing the situation,

“Okay, you can have them, put them in the basket quickly," Liam grabbed Niall by the wrist, pulling him to a standing position. Niall smiled brightly, placing them in the basket at Liam’s request before picking up his teddy he had left on the floor and then following Liam. Niall bounced on his feet as he followed Liam to the cashier. “Niall, walk properly,” Liam hissed as he began unloading what was in his basket.

Niall giggled quietly but then stood still for a moment, a serious expression covering his features. “What?” Liam questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Wee,” Niall scrunched his face, putting his hands between his legs. He announced this loud enough for anyone within a five-metre radius to hear him. Liam’s cheeks flared red and he quickly turned to continue taking out his items as though Niall had said nothing. “Li, wee,” Niall whined, tugging at Liam’s shirt. Liam closed his eyes slowly and exhaled.

“Yes Niall, I know you did one, now can you be a good boy for me and stay quiet until I’m done here and then I’ll change you when I can,” Liam told him. Niall nodded silently, pouting a little. He watched as Liam packed everything into a bag, quickly grabbing the pack of dummies and box his toys came in, clutching them to his chest protectively. Liam decided not to fight him and allowed him to carry them out to the car, despite the looks they received.

When they arrived home after the short journey, Liam instructed Niall to lay down. He took off Niall’s saturated nappy, putting cream on him before replacing his nappy. He didn’t put any trousers on Niall, leaving him in just his shirt and nappy because he found it rather cute.

“Oh good! You’re home, I have a surprise for you!” Harry announced excitedly as he came into the room. Liam jumped, not expecting to hear anybody’s voice. “Follow me!” Harry instructed. Liam frowned but stood up and followed Harry with Niall trailing behind, his new dummy in his mouth and tools in his hand.

Harry led them into Liam’s room, Liam’s eyes widening when he saw what they were met with. In the corner of Liam’s room now stood an adult sized crib. “Harry, what the fuck is this?” Liam almost whispered as Niall toddled over and began to hit the wood of the crib with his toy hammer, smiling to the boys proudly and giggling.

“It’s a crib, for Niall,” he explained.

“Yeah, I caught on to that much,” Liam gulped.

“I thought you wanted one seeing as the doctor suggested one, and this way you can sleep and not worry about Niall,” Harry’s smile faltered as he began to become unsure of his decision to do this without Liam’s permission. Liam swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s a good idea, I’m just a little shocked, s’all," he shrugged. He looked to Niall who was smiling at him as he hit the hammer against the wood repeatedly, a trail of drool running down his chin and pooling onto his shirt. Liam cringed and grabbed a bib from the pile on his dresser, coming over and tying it around Niall’s neck.

“Nap-time?” Niall questioned from behind his dummy, pointing to the crib above him.

“You wanna go for a nap?” Liam inquired. Niall nodded, rubbing at his eyes tiredly. He held his hands out to be picked up, which Liam did. Liam lay him down in the crib, pulling the blankets up over Niall and giving him his teddy.

“I got a mobile as well,” Harry said, pulling out a box as Niall watched the two boys from between the bars, sucking innocently on his dummy. Liam watched as Harry pulled the coloured mobile from it’s package, admiring all the colourful animals that hung from it. He watched as Harry set it up and then turned it on. It began to spin slowly and play a lullaby. Niall watched it, seemingly in a trance. He kicked his legs as he watched it, the blanket shifting and Niall’s nappy soon showing.

“He looks so adorable,” Harry cooed. Liam couldn’t disagree. Niall looked so young and innocent as he lay there, his eyes fluttering open and closed as he watched the mobile. Liam walked over, leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to Niall;s forehead once his eyes had shut and not reopened.

“i love you,” he whispered. Niall’s eyes opened for a spilt second, he smiled softly behind his dummy before allowing them to shut again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! If you did please leave any opinions or suggestions down below! Thank you all so much for your support so far, I love you all Xx


	6. Chapter 6

The following day Niall was rather cranky during lunch, refusing to eat which worried Liam as he had refused to eat breakfast as well. He had demanded a bottle and Liam had been in no mood to fight with him, nor did he like seeing him upset.

Liam told Niall to eat half of his grilled cheese sandwich and then he could have his bottle, although Niall shook his head and pushed his plate away.

“Oi, Niall, don’t be getting sassy on us now,” Louis raised an eyebrow at him. Niall stared him straight in the eye and pushed his plate the other way, towards the edge of the table. “Don’t you dare,” Louis shot him a glare. Niall smirked before pushing it off the table. “Niall James Horan!” Louis exclaimed as the plate fell to the floor, thankfully it was a plastic one. Liam turned around and his eyes widened.

“Niall, what did you do that for?!” Liam exclaimed and Niall immediately began to cry. He held his hands out to Liam as he sobbed quietly.

“Accident.” He lisped, wrapped his arms around Liam’s neck when Liam picked him up.

“That was no accident,” Louis folded his arms. “I personally think he should go to the naughty corner for that,” he said, which only made Niall cry louder, tears spilling down his cheeks rapidly.

“No Niall, it’s okay, shh.” Liam cooed, rubbing his back gently. “Come on, we’ll get you your bottle now,” he told him and Niall was not long calming down. When Liam turned to do the bottle and Niall’s head rested on his shoulder, Niall lifted his head and stuck his tongue out at Louis. Louis shook his head and narrowed his eyes at him.

Liam placed Niall down on his feet and handed him the bottle. “Ta.” Niall smiled before walking over to where his plate was still on the floor. He picked it up along with the grilled cheese and handed it to Louis. “Sorwy,” Niall lisped before running off to the living room with his bottle,

“He’s still a devious little shit,” Louis grumbled as he watched him run off.

After Liam finished washing the dishes - and the floor - he joined Niall in the living room. He frowned when he saw Niall lying on the couch with one hand clutching his tummy and the other holding his bottle.

“Are you okay?” Liam asked, rubbing Niall’s knee gently. He whined quietly behind his bottle, spreading his legs. A few seconds later a muffled fart came from between those legs which made Niall giggle and Louis snort as he walked into the room.

“Do you gotta go potty?” Louis chuckled as he sat down which made Liam’s eyes widen.

“No!” Niall squealed, giggling behind his bottle which ended in a flow of milk to run down his chin onto his bib. Niall slid off the couch once he’d finished his milk, scrunching his nose up a bit before crawling over to his toys and beginning to play with some cars. After about half an hour he was looking rather uncomfortable, his little nose scrunching up as he whined quietly.

He grabbed his teddy and crawled over behind the couch Louis was sat on, scrolling through Facebook aimlessly. Niall squatted, breathing heavily behind the dummy he only had a half grip on now. A concentrated look covered his features as he grunted quietly. His dummy fell from between his lips but he was too busy to notice. He began pushing then, his grunts getting a little louder as he filled the back of his nappy.

“What’s he doing?” Liam frowned, trying to move to see behind the couch.

“Don’t.” Louis held up his hand. “Give him his privacy,” He raised an eyebrow which had Liam looking more perplexed than before. “He’s having a poo,” he chuckled quietly and Liam’s eyes widened significantly. _He was only getting used to changing Niall’s wet nappies, he didn’t know how he was going to cope with a dirty one._ “Wait, why do you look so shocked? Has he not pooped since he came here?” Louis questioned and Liam shook his head. “Oh my God Liam, didn’t you cop onto how bad that is for him! He’s been here a bloody week you tit!”

“I know, I just didn’t want to think about it.” Liam put his face in his hands before rubbing his face, giving Louis a rather worried glance. He walked over to behind the couch when he heard Niall go silent. He stood in front of Niall who cowered beneath him, tears beginning to run down his cheeks.

“Hey, why are you crying?” Liam knelt down to Niall, getting a faint whiff of the smell which hit him harder than it probably should have. Niall began to cry harder, his body beginning to shake. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” Liam gently touched Niall’s knee which made his body jolt. His soon cries loudened.

“No hitting, daddy.” He cried, making Liam’s eyes widen even more. He looked to Louis who sat forward and glanced to Liam. Neither of them knew how to address the situation at this point. It then set in for Liam, Niall’s father probably abused him any time he messed himself. He put his hand over his mouth, realising Niall had probably been holding it in this whole time and that was why he was in pain earlier on.

“Hey Niall, I’m not going to hit,” Liam frowned, holding his hand out to Niall. “Wanna come and get changed? We’ll give you a bath too,” he offered. Niall looked up at Liam through his eyelashes, tears still spilling down his cheeks. He still seemed rather unsure. “Come on, you’ve been a good boy, let’s get cleaned up now,” Liam smiled, holding out his hand. Niall hesitantly took Liam’s hand, taking a stance. He followed Liam silently to the bathroom.

Louis got the changing mat and lay it on the bathroom floor for Liam before going and filling the bath while Liam sat between Niall’s legs. “Bubbles?” Louis asked Niall as Liam pulled down Niall’s joggers. Niall nodded his head frantically, sniffling quietly as he watched him.

“Lots a’ bubbles,” he grinned from behind his fingers. Liam bit on his lip as his fingers hesitated on the tabs of Niall’s nappy. Liam held his breath and opened the tabs. Once the nappy fell open he began to gag. He stood up and walked over to the sink, leaving Niall sucking on his fingers. He leaned against it, trying to regain his breath. “Liam,” Louis hissed. “For God sake grow a pair,” he snapped.

Liam groaned quietly but nodded, dubiously walking over to Niall again and kneeling down. He quickly pulled the dirty nappy from under Niall’s bum, almost gagging when he saw Niall’s bum.

“Oh my God though, it’s disgusting,” he shook his head as he got out some wipes. Niall immediately began to sob once the wipes touched his bum, his skin still extremely sensitive and sore.

“Well, get used to it. He’s going to need to go until he comes out of his headspace,” Louis reminded him. With a sigh, Liam nodded. “How long does he usually stay in it?” Louis curiously asked Liam.

“I never asked him,” he responded, shrugging his shoulders. He threw the dirty wipes on top of the nappy and then picked them up, throwing them in the bin. “Okay, bath now,” he smiled to Niall. Niall sat up and held up his arms for Liam to take off his shirt.

“Okay, you can leave us be now, we’re going to have a nice bath time, right Ni?” Liam smiled. Niall giggled, nodding and holding his hands out to Liam. Liam smiled and lifted Niall up from under his armpits. He set him in the bath and Niall immediately began running his hands through the bubbles, lifting some up and placing them on his head. He smiled brightly at Liam.

“Very cute,” he chuckled. “You’ve gotta give yourself a beard too,” Liam scooped some bubbles up, putting them on Niall’s chin. Niall immediately began to giggle loudly. Liam smiled as well, chuckling quietly as Niall began splashing his hands against the water. “Oi, stop messing,” Liam warned which made Niall giggle.

“No!” he squealed, splashing the water more. This resulted in Liam getting splashed, his shirt getting soaked. All he could do was laugh in this situation which only encouraged Niall to continue splashing.

“Hey, we have toys, let’s play with those,” Liam said, taking out the bath crayons Harry had got Niall. He opened the packet and handed a few to Niall’s awaiting hands. Niall peered at the colours, debating between them before choosing the green one. “This is what we do,” Liam leaned over to the wall and drew a stick figure on it, wiping it away with some water when he was done. Niall watched in awe before smiling brightly. He turned in the bath and scribbled on the wall, giggling then.

He then got extremely concentrated on what he was doing, drawing a picture that he wouldn’t let Liam see until he was finished. When he was done, he turned to Liam and smiled. “‘Ook!” he squealed. “You,” he pointed to a wobbly stick figure. “me,” he pointed to a smaller one. “‘Arry and Lou,” he pointed to the two scribbles that he couldn’t even discern as people. It looked like he had given up on drawing and scribbled the last two.

“Wow, very good,” Liam commented, smiling brightly. “You’re great at drawing,” he grinned as he grabbed the bottle of shampoo and began to lather Niall’s hair. he got him to tip back his head as he rinsed it out. Once he did, Niall shook his head, resembling a wet dog as he shot droplets of water throughout the area, mainly to Liam who tried to cover his face with his hand. “Oi, watch where you’re going with that water,” Liam shook his head as he watched Niall, although he had to admit he was adorable. “That’s enough splashing,” Liam said as he dipped the washcloth in the water. He squeezed the excess water out of it and began to rub over Niall’s body.

Niall begrudgingly lifted his arms or turned around when Liam instructed him to. When Liam declared it time to get out of the bath Niall began to whine, pushing out his bottom lip. “P’ay more Li,” he pouted, taking a handful of bubbles and placing them on Liam’s head.

“Niall!’ Liam exclaimed, wiping his hair off on the towel he had set out for Niall. He chuckled, shaking his head before reaching and hoisting Niall out of the tub. He set him on his feet and turned around to retrieve his towel although when he turned back, Niall was gone and giggles were audible from the hallway.

Liam groaned quietly, standing up and going to the doorway. He soon got a view of Niall’s bottom wriggling as he ran down the hall. “Catch me,” he giggled which made Liam chuckle quietly.

He ran down the hall with the towel, grabbing Niall who was standing at the bottom of the hallway giggling loudly. He scooped him up with the towel and held him bridal style. “Gotcha,” Liam smiled as Niall laughed loudly in his arms. He brought Niall to the living room, sitting on the couch with him on his lap, wrapped up in the blanket like he was in a cocoon.

Liam dried off Niall’s body, patting Niall’s bottom and front privates gently because his skin was still tainted a red colour. He then towel dried Niall’s hair, cooing softly when it stuck up in all directions. when he picked up the nappy sitting next to them on the couch Niall immediately began whining. When Liam tried to put the nappy on him Niall wriggled, thrusting his hips in the air.

“Oi, calm,” Liam chuckled, holding Niall’s hips down. Soft cries were soon heard in the room, Niall shaking his head. “You don’t want a nappy?” Liam raised an eyebrow. Niall shook his head. Liam sighed but placed it aside, asking “does your bum hurt?” to which Niall nodded again. “Okay, you can keep it off for a little while, but tell me if you need a wee-wee or you can go potty in the bathroom,’ he informed Niall, grabbing his t-shirt and slipping it on him. Niall huffed a little, evidently wanting to be completely nude. Liam rolled his eyes but stood up. His lower half out was enough.

Liam went to the kitchen to start on dinner while Niall sat on the floor in the living room, becoming entranced by a jigsaw puzzle he was adamant on finishing. Halfway through Liam came in and handed Niall a bottle of water, which he took and began to suck on while he continued to try match jigsaw pieces. He dropped the bottle once he had drank for a few minutes, reaching down and holding his cock with that hand then.

“Niall, no touching your willy,” Liam commented, moving Niall’s hand from his privates. Niall froze, a little startled, peering over his shoulder at Liam. “We don’t touch our willies,” he told Niall who just giggled and went back to doing his jigsaw.

Liam chuckled fondly and left the room, going back to the kitchen again. Niall continued with his puzzle. He was almost finished when he noticed a pressure in his bladder. He wriggled a little and then let go without even thinking as he was used to doing that. It was only when he felt wetness spreading under his bum did he realise he was peeing.

He stood up quickly, stopping his flow and running to the kitchen where Liam was. He began to cry as he entered the room. Liam came over wrapping his arms around him, asking what was wrong. “Accident,” Niall managed to blurt out through his cries.

“Oh, it's okay,” Liam quietly spoke even though he wanted to shoot himself right now. All he hoped was it was pee. He couldn’t deal with any more poo today. “Show me where,” he said, getting some cleaning supplies from under the sink. He took Niall’s hand and got him to lead him to where the accident was. He was unaware Niall still had to go. Niall, not used to holding it in, whined quietly. He felt himself lose muscle control as soon as they got to the hallway. This caused Liam to stop dead in his tracks when he heard the splattering of pee hitting against the wooden floor. Niall began to cry again, squatting down. He tried to stop his stream again but he couldn’t, glancing up at Liam in shame as he peed on his floor. Liam just told him it was okay, stepping away slightly so he didn’t stand in the puddle of pee Niall was creating. God, why must he had such long pee’s, Liam thought to himself.

Niall wouldn’t move when he was done, avoiding eye contact with Liam as he dribbled onto the floor. Suddenly Liam grew worried, _surely Niall wouldn’t have peed twice?_ He walked into the living room and almost stepping on the small wet patch on the carpet. He felt relieved when he saw Niall had only wet. He felt kind of bad when he realised Niall must have stopped peeing but then couldn’t hold it any longer. He couldn’t be mad at him.

He turned to Niall who was standing in the doorway with his head bowed. “Hey, its okay Niall, don’t worry,” he assured him as he began to clean the carpet. Once he finished cleaning both the carpet and hallway, he asked Niall if he wanted to put on a nappy. Niall shyly shook his head. Liam felt uncertainty bubble in the pit of his stomach but he decided to let him be anyway.

“How about we watch a movie and have some popcorn and juice before bed?” Liam offered when he saw Niall’s melancholic expression. Tears were still spilling down his cheeks as he stood in the doorway.

“Yes p’ease,” Niall sniffled in response.

“Okay, go sit on the couch while I go get the popcorn,” Liam ruffled his hair, leaning down and kissing the top of his head. He hated seeing Niall so sad, he would do anything to make him happy again.

Niall sat on the couch waiting for Liam who returned with a bowl of popcorn and a sippy cup of Cola for Niall. Niall squealed when he realised what drink he got, smiling widely at Liam. Liam chuckled and then had an internal though… Coke before bed may not have been the most appropriate drink to give Niall. He glanced to him, watching him chugging it down. _Fuck_ , he thought.

He allowed Niall to watch the movie, he chose Toy Story which Liam didn’t hate his choice, although he would have preferred to watch something that wasn’t a cartoon. Half way through the movie Niall moved onto Liam’s lap, curling up as he sucked on the bottle of milk Liam had gotten him to try calm him down before bed. Niall was rather fidgety since having the Coke. He couldn’t sit still for longer than three seconds and he was babbling quietly to himself throughout the movie. He even babbled quietly behind the nipple of his bottle, causing milk to dribble down his chin. Liam couldn’t make out what he was saying but smiled nonetheless because he was just being bloody adorable.

When the movie was almost over He was beginning to fall asleep himself, as was Niall. Niall was half asleep so he didn’t realise the pressure in his bladder, his body just automatically letting go. Niall didn’t notice but Liam’s eyes went wide when he heard a hissing noise. _No, please god no_ , he thought to himself. Then, he felt the warmth on his lap and groaned loudly.

“Oh for Gods sake Niall!” He exclaimed. Niall jumped and immediately began to cry. He tried to stop but he couldn’t and just sat shamefully on Liam’s lap for another ten seconds as he finished his wee.

Once he was done, Liam stood the two of them up, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his hair. He was just _exhausted_. There was no such thing as a break with Niall. He didn’t know how he was going to get that out of the cloth on the couch. “For fucks sake,” he cursed as he left the room, going to the bathroom to take a shower. He left Niall standing in the living room, shivering as he stared at his feet with tears rolling down his cheeks.

  
Liam washed his legs a few times, with soap. He felt like getting antibacterial. He was rinsing out his hair when he heard sniffles in the room. He pushed back the shower curtain enough just so he could get his head out. Sat on the floor was Niall, tears rolling down his cheeks rapidly. “Sowry,” he hiccuped out of breath from crying so much. _Oh my God, I can’t even get five minutes on my own in the shower_ , Liam said to himself, shaking his head. He didn’t want to be mad at Niall, but at the same time he was not in the mood for him. He just wanted to be on his own, for five minutes at least.

He knew this wasn’t going to happen so he got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around his waist and went to get a nappy and pyjamas on Niall. He noticed as he was dressing him Niall was shaking. Liam wasn’t certain if this was due to nerves or for being cold. Either way, once Niall was in his pyjamas Liam put him into his crib and left without another word.

After cleaning downstairs Liam came up to bed. Niall was still awake, sitting upright in the crib with one of his legs hanging out between the bars. He watched Liam getting changed and into bed, whinging quietly as he grabbed the bars of the crib. “Niall, go to sleep,” Liam sighed as he lay down in bed, rubbing his forehead. Liam lay down and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He woke up a few hours later to go to the bathroom, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. It was then he heard very quiet cries coming from the other side of the room. Guilt immediately began to bubble in the pit of his stomach. He reached forward and switched on his lamp only to see Niall was in the same position as he was when Liam went to sleep.

“Ni, why aren't you asleep?” Liam stood up and walked over. Niall glanced up at him with red-rimmed, puffy eyes.

“Teddy,” he hiccuped once he spoke. It was then Liam noticed he hadn’t given Niall his teddy or dummy, his two comfort items.

“Oh Ni, I’m so sorry,” Liam wanted to hit himself. He tells himself that he was going to take the best care of Niall he possibly could then he goes and neglects him like this. He was just so exhausted and irritable he’d forgotten to give Niall his teddy.

“Cuddle,” Niall completely broke down and began to sob loudly, holding his hands out to Liam. Liam felt a pang in his heart as he leaned down and picked him up. Once he put his hand on Niall’s bum to balance him, it dawned on him Niall’s onesie was wet. He frowned, peering into the crib and seeing a wet patch where Niall had been sitting. He sighed quietly but went and got Niall’s dummy and teddy, giving them to him and then laying him down on the bed. He took off his onesie, taking off the saturated nappy which had been leaking. Once off, he rubbed a generous amount of cream on Niall before putting another nappy and fluffy onesie on him.

“Want to sleep in bed with me?” Liam asked him. He nodded quietly, sniffling. “Come on, let’s go to sleep,” he smiled, helping Niall under the covers. Niall buried his face in the matted fur of his bear, sucking on his dummy as he fell asleep.

In the morning, Niall was still sleeping at eleven considering he’d been awake half the night. Liam let him be and got some time to himself after putting Niall’s sheets in the wash.

When Niall awoke, he toddled downstairs to find Liam, teddy clutched close to his chest. “Li,” he grinned from behind his dummy when he found Liam in the living room. He ran over to Liam, waddling as he did.

“Morning bud,” Liam smiled as he helped Niall onto his lap. “Louis is taking you out after breakfast,” he told Niall, rubbing circles on his back. He had spoken to Louis who agreed to take Niall for the day. He understood Liam was exhausted after over a whole week of baby Niall and he needed a little time to himself.

Liam got up and made Niall a bottle, coming back with it and chucking when Niall handed him a nappy. “Want a change?” He raised an eyebrow to which Niall nodded, lying down on the couch for Liam. “Do you want some toast for breakfast?” Liam asked Niall as he taped the new nappy around Niall’s waist.

Niall shook his head and continued to suck contently on his bottle. Liam didn’t argue but informed Louis when he arrived Niall hadn’t eaten anything. Liam dressed Niall and then packed a bag for Louis with anything he may need during the day for Niall.

“You ready to go then, bud?” Louis smiled down at Niall who returned a rather anxious glance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Thanks sooooo much for your support! Thank you all so much for the suggestions in the last chapter! I took them all into consideration and included some in this chapter! 
> 
> If you have any more suggestions or requests, please leave them down below and I would be happy to write whatever you guys want! So yeah, let me know what you all think! Love you xx


	7. Chapter 7

Louis took Niall’s hand and lead him inside his house. During the car journey Niall had been rather anxious, wriggling around on his seat and nibbling on the ear of his teddy bear.

Once inside, Louis took out some of Niall’s toys and scattered them on the floor in the living room to make it seem more homely to Niall. Niall sat precariously on the edge of the couch, not wanting to engage in play with Louis who was attempting to get him to play.

“Are you hungry?” Louis asked after a few minutes. Niall shook his head and pushed his face into the back of his teddy bear. “How about a yogurt? I have banana one’s or strawberry?” Louis offered.

Niall’s face lit up, “banana,” he said with a smile.

“Want a banana one?” Louis smiled. Niall nodded and stood up, taking Louis’ hand when he offered it to him. Louis lead him to the kitchen, opening the fridge and showing him the yogurt. It had a cartoon of a monkey on it, his little siblings always ate these.

“‘Onkey!” Niall giggled when he saw it. Louis nodded and got one of the adult baby plastic spoons Liam had sent with Niall. He took him back to the living room and turned on the telly, letting him watch telly as he ate. This is what his mum always did with his younger siblings, it keeps them distracted so they generally ate more. He watched as Niall struggled to scoop the yogurt out of the pot and once he did, he spattered it all over the jeans he was wearing. “Oops,” he glanced up at Louis a little nervously.

“It’s okay, want me to feed you?” Louis asked, grabbing a baby wipe and leaning down next to him. He wiped Niall’s trousers although they’d need a wash now. He took the spoon from Niall and held a spoonful to his mouth, which Niall took gratefully. “Is that yummy?” Louis asked after a few more mouthfuls. Niall nodded, yogurt surrounding his mouth now. He held his mouth open for more and whined when there was none left.

“Do you want another one?” Louis asked. Niall nodded, smiling brightly so Louis went and got another one from the fridge, feeding that to Niall as well. By the time he was done the second one, there was yogurt all down the front of Niall’s shirt and all over his fingers because he kept putting his fingers in his mouth as he was eating.

“You are so messy,” Louis chuckled, placing down the empty yogurt pot and taking a baby wipe to clean off Niall’s hands and his face. He pulled off Niall’s shirt as well as his jeans, leaving Niall in just his nappy. “We’re going out in a little while,” Louis told Niall who sat anxiously on the floor. “Do you wanna go?” Louis asked to which Niall shook his head. “Not even to a soft play area?” He raised his eyebrows at Niall. Niall smiled shyly. Louis had found this adult baby soft play area not far from where he lives. He decided to take Niall considering Niall hadn’t really been out much yet. He didn’t really know what to expect from it or how weird it would be but he was hoping Niall would have fun.

Louis left Niall to go put his clothes in the washing, coming back to dress him before they left. When he returned Niall was throwing his blocks against the wall and something was missing significant - his nappy. “Excuse me Mister, but where is your nappy?” Louis raised an eyebrow at Niall who began to giggle. He turned away from Louis and threw another block at the wall. “Excuse me, but could we stop throwing things?” Louis raised an eyebrow at him as he picked up the abandoned nappy Niall had left behind the couch. “Niall, if you don’t stop throwing those blocks we won’t be going,” Louis spoke. “Now come over here and get this nappy on you,” he demanded, holding it up. Niall whined, shaking his head before throwing another block.

“Niall, you throw one more of those, I swear to God, you’re going straight to the naughty step,” Louis snapped which made Niall’s body jolt. He dropped the block he was holding and began to cry. “Turn off those tears, I’m not Liam I don’t feel sorry for you,” Louis told him, coming over with a nappy and clothes. He got Niall to lay down, all the while he sobbed, kicking his legs and wiggling around as Louis attempted to get his nappy on him. Louis was a pro at getting nappies on wiggly babies by this stage so he had the nappy taped on Niall within thirty seconds.

When they arrived at the play centre, Louis felt a bit of uncertainty bubble in the pit of his stomach. He wasn’t looking forward to going in here. Either way, he got Niall out of the car and led him inside. Both his and Niall’s eyes widened -for different reasons- when they entered, it was just like a kids soft play centre only it wasn’t kids playing in it, it was adults and to Louis, they looked normal. he was glad when he saw there were only a few people here.

The lady stamped the back of Niall’s hand once Louis had paid and she told Niall to take off his shoes before letting him run off. Niall was in awe as he looked around, not knowing where to go first. He immediately ran to the ballpit as it was the closest thing to him. Jumping into it, he giggled loudly as he sunk into the balls. Louis came over and stood behind the netting as he watched Niall who began throwing balls at the net where Louis was standing.”Cheeky,” Louis smirked at him as he giggled loudly.

Louis took a seat, taking out his phone to check his social media’s as Niall moved from the ball pit, climbing up the plush steps to the next level and beginning to run through that then. He took a video on snapchat of Niall doing this, sending it to Liam.

Niall crawled through a tunnel to the slides, sliding down it and squealing the whole time he did, a giggling mess at the bottom. Louis watched with a fond smile. Niall stood up and sped back inside the play area, disappearing from Louis’ view. Louis sat back and relaxed for the next hour, occasionally seeing Niall run past or come down the slide full throttle. Niall then came over to Louis, completely out of breath, “drink” he managed to say through puffs for air. Louis handed him a sippy cup of water which Niall took and downed in one go. Louis watched as he did, his chest rising up and down rapidly, his cheeks a bright red and beads of perspiration were accumulating on his forehead.

“Are you ready to go?” Louis asked him, wiping Niall’s forehead as he pulled the sippy cup from his mouth, breathing heavily. Niall shook his head frantically. “We have to go soon Ni, you can play for a little while longer but then we have to go, okay?” Louis asked and Niall nodded. He held a hand out to Louis, smiling at him. “What?” Louis asked.

“Come play,” Niall smiled. Louis bit on his lip but decided to have a little fun, taking Niall’s hand and letting him lead him into the ball pit. He jumped in along with Niall, laughing when Niall began giggling. He decided to mess with him and as soon as Niall wasn’t looking, Louis buried himself in the balls. Niall glanced back, a worried expressing etching his features. “Lou?” He peered around anxiously.

A few minutes passed, which felt a lot longer for Niall than it did for Louis. He was standing looking through the net when Louis jumped up from under the balls yelling “Arghhh!’ Grabbing Niall around the waist. Niall screamed loudly, falling backwards into the ball pit and immediately began sobbing which made Louis feel guilty. He knew he hadn’t hurt himself but he expected Niall to giggle when he did this.

“Oh Ni, I’m sorry, I was being silly,” Louis said, taking Niall’s trembling frame into his arms. Niall sobbed into his chest as Louis rubbed his back gently. “Oh Ni,” he cooed, peering around to make sure nobody was watching them. “Come on, will we go?” Louis asked Niall. Niall pulled back, tears rolling down his checks, exclaiming “no!” and running out of the ball pit into the play area. Louis’ eyes widened when he saw the back of Niall’s jeans were wet. “Niall, come back here now!” Louis exclaimed but Niall continued to run. Louis groaned and stood up, running after him. He groaned when he ran straight into what looked like a giant punching bag, falling backwards immediately. He stood up and ran after Niall which was quite difficult considering he was basically running through an obstacle course to catch him.

As soon as Niall went down the slide, Louis had caught up. Niall toppled at the bottom and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. Soon, his view was obstructed by Louis standing above him. “Niall, you’re all wet, look,” Louis pointed to the front of Niall’s jeans which were a darker colour than the rest of them. “Come on, we’ll get you cleaned up,” Louis gently lifted Niall up as he began to cry.

Louis grabbed Niall’s bag and carried both him and the bag to the changing bathroom. He locked the door and set Niall down on the changing mat once had had unrolled it. He took off Niall’s clothes, throwing them to the side and then quickly changing Niall nappy, all the while he screamed, thrashing around on the floor. This task made Louis feel a little awkward, especially when he had to wipe Niall for the first time. Now he knew how Liam felt.

“Calm down,” Louis rolled his eyes as he put Niall’s jeans on, which if you’ve ever tried to put skinny jeans on someone else - it wasn’t an easy task, especially with Niall screaming and crying the whole time. As Louis was putting Niall’s shirt on him, he screamed when it was over his head and began thrashing his arms, ending up punching Louis in the nose. “Jesus Christ,” Louis grabbed his nose, using his other hand to finishing dressing a very distressed Niall.

Once he was dressed Louis grabbed Niall’s bag and picked him up, carrying him to the car. He put Niall in the backseat, wrapping a blanket around him as it was quite chilly outside and then gave him his dummy and teddy. Niall’s cries turned to soft sniffles once he had his dummy and teddy in hand. He rubbed his cheek against the fur of the bear while Louis put Niall’s seatbelt on him and then got into the front seat himself. He was going to stop off to get Niall ice-cream but when he peered into the rearview mirror, he saw Niall’s head was drooped as he was sleeping.

When he arrived home, Niall was still asleep. Louis gently picked him up, Niall’s head dropping to Louis’ shoulder once he was on his hip. He laid Niall down on the couch once inside and wrapped him in a blanket.

While Niall slept, Louis ironed his clothes he had washed for him and tidied up the blocks Niall had been throwing before they left. He was beginning to realise why Liam needed a break, Niall was a lot of hard work and the day was only half over.

When Niall awoke, he was groggy and just lay on the couch sucking on his dummy. Louis came in ten minutes later, smiling at Niall as he folded Niall’s clothes to put back in his bag. “Hi sleepyhead, did you have a nice sleep?” Louis questioned. Niall just smiled behind his dummy. “Are you hungry?” Louis asked to which Niall nodded.”Okay, I’ll order us some pizza for dinner, does that sound goof?” Louis smiled, leaning down and gently kissing Niall’s forehead.

When the pizza arrived Niall was still laying on the couch. Louis called him to the kitchen and he lethargically walked to the kitchen, dropping his body to the seat next to Louis’. Louis set a plate with two cut up slices of pepperoni pizza in front of Niall as well as a sippy cup of soda. Niall picked up one of the bitesized pieces and sniffed it. He hesitantly put it in his mouth, chewing on it. He liked it so he ate a few more before picking up his sippy cup and drinking what was in that.

“More juice,” he held it out to Louis when he was done. Louis shook his head and pointed to Niall’s plate which still looked quite full.

“Eat up, then you can have more juice,” he raised an eyebrow at Niall who whined. Niall pushed his plate away and held out the sippy cup to Louis. “Have five more bites Niall and I’ll get you more juice,” Louis spoke through a mouthful of pizza.

“No, juice!” Niall exclaimed, getting more agitated as he waved his sippy cup in the air. Louis shook his head and pointed to Niall’s plate again. Niall let out out an angered scream and threw his sippy cup to the floor. It fell with a clash to the tiled floor beneath them.

“Niall,” Louis warned, raising his eyebrows at Niall. Niall was evidently not used to not getting his own way now as Liam basically just gave him whatever he wanted whenever he asked for it. “Pick that up now,” Louis demanded, his voice sharp. Niall knew he meant business and knelt down on the floor, picking it up and placing it on the table. “Thank you Niall, now finish your food,” he said without even looking to Niall who was crying loudly. Louis ignored his cries for a few minutes and soon Niall’s cries died down. Louis smirked when he saw Niall hiccuping as he picked up a piece of pizza, beginning to eat again.

“Good boy Niall!” He commented as he saw Niall chew on a piece. “Four more and then you can have more juice,” Louis smiled. Niall took another and counted “one,” as he ate it. “Two,” another one. “Three,” Louis counted with him, “Four!” They both exclaimed. Niall giggled loudly and smiled before Louis stood up and poured Niall more juice. “Good job Niall! I’m so proud of you!” Louis handed him the sippy cup and kissed the top of his head.

When dinner was over, Louis left Niall to play in the living room while he washed the dishes. Louis told Niall he was going to the bathroom, leaving him to play while he did. Niall got bored of his toys while Louis was gone, throwing them aside and crawling to the kitchen.

Once he did, he curiously opened the first cupboard he came to. Pulling out the first thing he saw - a bag of flour…. He giggled when a white cloud of flour puffed out of the bag as he pulled it out. Wow! This seemed fun.

When Louis entered the room ten minutes later, his eyes widened. The floor was covered in flour as was Niall. There was flour all over his clothes, all around his mouth, in his hair and even in his eyebrows. Accompanying the flour was caster sugar which Niall had also spread all over the floor. “Niall James Horan!” Louis yelled. Niall turned around and giggled. He picked up a handful of flour at threw it to Louis, hitting him in the face. Louis pursed his lips, shutting his eyes and trying his best not to lose his temper. “Snow!” Niall giggled.

“Get up!” Louis yelled, balling his fists at his sides. “You’re getting in the shower and going to the naughty step,” he snapped and Niall’s smile suddenly diminished. Louis grabbed Niall by the wrist and lead him upstairs. He stripped Niall completely, putting him in the shower and rinsing the flour out of his hair and off his face. Niall cried the whole time, screaming when Louis got water in his eyes.

Once he was done in the shower, Louis wrapped him in his bathrobe, taking him by the wrist again and leading him down the stairs. Niall cried the whole way and screamed when Louis demanded him to sit on the bottom step. He screamed and stomped his feet, not wanting to. “Niall, you’re going to sit there now until I come and get you,” Louis snapped and Niall knew he was not to be messed with. Niall cried as he sat down, watching Louis leave and then beginning to scream.

He stood up and ran after Louis, sobbing as he gripped his hand. Louis just led him back to the stairs and left him there again. Niall screamed loudly, not liking being ignored. He was confused, anytime he cried with Liam, he would pick him up and cuddle him or give him whatever he wanted. Why doesn’t Louis do the same? He followed Louis a few more times but each time Louis still put him back to the step.

Niall kicked his legs, having a complete total meltdown on the stairs. He took off the robe Louis had put on him, leaving him completely nude. He sat down on the robe and started screaming again, sobbing loudly. “Niall, I’m not Liam, I don’t feel sorry for you like he does. You can cry all you want but the longer you cry, the longer you’ll be sitting there,” Louis told him, standing in the doorway of the living room with his arms folded. He left then and went to the kitchen to clean up while Niall continued to scream.

Niall’s cries began to subdue ten minutes later. Five minutes after that when there was silence, Louis went out to him. He found Niall sitting on the step cuddling his bathrobe. “Are you ready to say sorry to me?” Louis asked him, kneeling down next to him.

Niall cried softly and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Louis’s neck. “Sowry  
,” he mumbled into Louis’ neck. Louis smiled and rubbed his back.

“And why did I put you here?” Louis questioned, pulling back and getting Niall to look at him.

“I was bad,’ he mumbled quietly, looking down at his feet.

“What did you do?”

“Made a mess,” he went to hug Louis again but he stopped him.

“Are you going to do it again, Niall?”

“No,” Niall started crying again and wrapped his arms around Louis. Louis picked him up and rocked him gently, rubbing his back. He whispered to him that it was all forgotten now and they could go get ice-cream. Niall still couldn’t believe Louis had ignored him for so long. Although he managed to self soothe himself after a while, this was all he wanted, to be held and to feel safe. In his eyes, he hadn’t done anything that bad. Did he?

Louis lay Niall on the couch and put a nappy on him, wrapping him in the bathrobe again before getting Niall a bowl of ice-cream to eat while he watched some telly. When he returned with the bowl in hand Niall was lying on the couch and the nappy Louis had just put on him, laying next to him. “Excuse me mister, who said you could take your nappy off?” Louis questioned as he set the bowl down and picked up the nappy. Niall giggled behind his fingers he had in his mouth before sitting up and grabbing his cock. He expected Louis to scold him like Liam did anytime he touched himself but Louis didn’t. “Can you please move your hands so we can out your nappy on again?” Louis asked. Niall giggled but moved his hands, letting Louis tape the nappy on him again.

He sat next to Niall then, holding the bowl of ice-cream in one hand and a spoon in the other. Niall opened his mouth for a spoonful with his hands between his legs gripping his nappy. He watched the telly as Louis spoon-fed him, messing with the tabs of his nappy as he did. He opened them and Louis immediately scolded him.

“Niall, stop it, leave the nappy on,” he did the tabs again as Niall whined. “Here, feed yourself,” he said, handing the bowl and spoon to Niall hoping that would distract him from taking off the nappy.

Niall put the bowl on his lap and began messily scooping the ice-cream into his mouth, ending up getting it all over his face. He kept putting his fingers in his mouth each time he scooped some ice-cream in, ending in some very sticky fingers,

Once he finished the bowl, Louis cleaned off Niall’s fingers and face, having to wipe his legs too because he’d spilt ice-cream all over those. Louis went to leave the bowl in the sink and when he returned Niall was untaping his nappy again. “Niall, I swear to God,” Louis rolled his eyes fondly as he watched Niall undoing the tabs. “If you want to take it off then please do a wee for me first and you can keep it off for a while,” Louis told him. Frankly, he didn’t trust Niall unless he knew he had just gone to the toilet.

Niall whined quietly and rest his head on Louis’ shoulder, grabbing his nappy with a concentrated look on his face. A few moments later the telltale hissing sound filled was faintly heard as Niall grunted quietly, wriggling around next to Louis. He sighed contently, it felt so relaxing to just let go whenever he wanted. “Good boy!” Louis smiled once the sound finished. Louis went to take Niall’s nappy off but his fingers were already on the tabs, pulling them open. He threw the used nappy on Louis’ lap and then turned to the telly again. Louis scrunched his nose because the nappy was still warm. He quickly rolled it up and disposed of it.

Niall lay on the couch, chewing on the teat of his dummy while he watched the telly. Louis dimmed the lights and then wrapped a blanket around Niall, hoping to get him sleepy before they left to go back home again. He knew it was a terrible thing to say, but as much as he did enjoy watching the cute sides of Niall, he was already exhausted after just one day of looking after him.

A half an hour later, Niall was sleepy as was Louis. Louis got him in a nappy and swaddled him in some blankets before taking him to the car. He drove to Liam’s and once there, Niall was fast asleep. Louis cooed, carrying him inside where Liam was waiting for them.

“Niall!” Liam exclaimed and took him into his arms, cuddling him close to him. It had surprised Liam, but he had missed Niall today… A lot actually. It felt weird not having anyone running after him whining and not hearing his giggles every five minutes. He’d actually missed him. Although. he was glad he got a break today, he was in need of it. Just time to sit around and do nothing, take a nap and kick back and watch some telly which wasn’t cartoons. “God, I missed him,” he said, burying his face in Niall’s hair.

“God Liam, I don’t know how you do it on your own, he’s such a handful,” Louis said running a hand through his hair. “I should really be here more often to help you out. I never realised how much work it was until I was alone with him today,” he said, placing a hand on Liam’s shoulder. Liam smiled softly as he watched Niall sleep.

“Yeah, it’s a lot of work but it makes it worth it when he just wants you when he’s upset or when he smiled so brightly for no reason other than the fact you’re with him,” Liam smiled as he watched Niall. Liam carried Niall upstairs then, Louis following closely behind. Liam placed him in his crib, being sure his teddy was within hands reach. He tucked Niall in, kissing his forehead before going downstairs with Louis.

Louis told him all that happened that day with Niall while the two sat on the couch and had a beer. He informed him of the good, how Niall had eaten for him and had loads of fun at the play area. He also told Liam what Niall had done with the flour which had Liam almost wetting himself. “Oh my God, that’s too funny, I’m so sorry he did that,” Liam said through giggles.

“It wasn’t funny at the time, but looking back, it was priceless,’ Louis grabbed his beer bottle around the neck, pressing it to his lips and taking another gulp. Liam watched as he did this. He shuffled a little closer to Liam so their legs were then touching. Liam glanced down at that before peering back up at Louis and smiling softly.

They turned their attention to the telly once they had finished speaking about Niall. They watched a movie together and during it, Liam rest his head on Louis’ shoulder, Louis let him and wrapped an arm around Liam’s back. It felt a little strange to Liam to be this close to Louis like this, but at the same time, it felt kinda right…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for your support! Leave any suggestions or opinions down below, I love hearing them! I try to include as many of the suggestions as I get! Thank you all for reading, love you all so much! Xx


	8. Chapter 8

> In the morning Liam awoke on the couch. He sat up, glancing down at the presence next to him, Louis. His eyes widened when he realised the two had fallen asleep on the couch together with the telly still on. Liam sat up quickly and slid out from behind Louis who was still sleeping. He ran upstairs to check on Niall, finding Niall to be still sleeping soundly. He breathed a sigh of relief, pushing his hair off of his forehead. He checked Niall’s nappy, putting down the side of the crib to change his nappy when he found it wet.
> 
> Niall’s eyes opened sleepily as Liam opened his nappy, the cold hitting him. “Dada,” he mouthed sleepily which made Liam’s eyes widen. _Wait… did he call him dad?_ Liam quickly finished changing Niall, pulling the covers up over him and adjusting the side of the crib again. Niall’s eyes were shut again once Liam had done this and he was sleeping soundly.

An hour or so later, Louis awoke, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he sat up. He was surprised to find himself in Liam’s living room. He hadn’t recalled falling asleep… He stood up and walked to the kitchen where he found Liam who was trying to coax Niall into eating his toast. Niall was not complying though and was straight out refusing it, whining for milk. Liam watched, somewhat worried Niall wasn’t eating enough. He knew milk wasn’t substantial breakfast for a grown man and Niall was barely eating anything more than that. Liam was worried he would lose more weight he didn’t have. He was already too easy to pick up as it was.

“No Liam,” Louis shook his head. “You have to cut his food up, silly.” he shook his head at Liam, taking a knife and fork and cutting up Niall’s toast into bite-sized pieces. Niall moved onto Louis’ lap then, watching as he cut them up for him. “How many pieces do you need to eat before you get milk?” Louis asked as he put down the cutlery. Niall looked back at him and held up two fingers. “Only two?” Louis raised an eyebrow to which Niall nodded and giggled. “How about you eat… hmm… six pieces and then I’ll get you milk.” Louis offered.

“Okay,” Niall said, picking up a piece and shoving it into his mouth. “One,” he counted and shoved another into his mouth before he had even finished chewing. “Two, three, four,” with each number he uttered it became more muffled because his mouth was becoming full. He wasn’t chewing anything, just shoving them all into his mouth. “Five,’ he held up another piece but Louis stopped him.

“Niall, this is breakfast, not the chubby bunny challenge,” he chuckled which made Niall giggle. “Chew what’s in your mouth or you’ll choke yourself,” he rolled his eyes fondly. Niall chewed what was in his mouth and then finished off the majority of the toast. Liam watched, rather stupefied. Louis made it look so easy to get him to eat.

Louis gave Niall his milk and then sat down to eat his own breakfast which was the porridge Liam had made. Niall climbed onto Louis’ lap again, preferring it to his actual seat. As Louis ate, Niall pulled out the bottle from his mouth, holding his mouth open for a spoonful of what Louis was eating. Louis chuckled and gave him a spoon, gauging his reaction. “Yummy,” Niall held his mouth open for more. He rested back against Louis’ chest and Louis basically fed Niall his breakfast. He didn’t mind, though, he was just glad to see him eating.

When the bowl was finished Niall went back to drinking his milk, his other hand going inside his pyjama pants and starting to open the tabs of his nappy. As soon as he opened one side he put his hand inside his nappy, wriggling slightly on Louis’ lap because he was itchy down there.

“Niall, get your hand out of there, we do not touch ourselves at the kitchen table,” Liam snapped, pulling Niall’s hand from his pants. Niall whined as Liam taped his nappy shut again.

“You’re mean, aren’t you? You know itchy balls aren’t nice, you meanie,” Louis pouted and held Niall protectively to his chest as he wriggled on Louis in an attempt to get some relief.

“Meanie,” Niall repeated and folded his arms, glowering at Liam.

“You can itch them all you want when you’re one- not at the kitchen table and two- don’t have an audience,” Liam inquired as Niall tried to itch them through his pyjama pants and nappy, which wasn’t very successful, to say the least.

“I think I’m going to go home to get changed and have a shower and that. I’ll be back later if you want?” Louis said as he set Niall down on his feet. Liam’s eyes shot to Louis’ and they widened.

“You can have a shower here,” he quickly responded. Louis smiled softly and glanced down at his lap, picking at his fingernails.

“You don’t want me to go, do you?” Louis asked softly. Liam shook his head in response.

“No, I don’t,” he responded. “It makes me feel so much more comfortable and safe while you’re here. It’s so nice to have the help and well, the company,” Liam smiled and so did Louis.

“Okay, I’ll go get my things and then come back,” he chuckled, leaning over and kissing Liam’s cheek which soon reddened. “I’ll be back as soon as I can be,” he said. True to his word, Louis was only half an hour coming back. He took a shower before coming downstairs and sitting with Liam while Niall played.

Louis then suggested them all going out for lunch. Liam felt a little hesitant but he knew it wasn't fair keeping Niall cooped up in the house all the time. It wasn't good for any of them.

As Louis got Niall dressed he told him he had to listen to everything they told him to do today and if he was a good boy, they'd take him to the toy shop at the end. This had Niall bouncing up and down excitedly at the prospect of getting to choose a new toy.

Getting out of the car at the restaurant, Louis quickly pulled Niall's skinny jeans up because as he got out of the car they slid down, showing part of his nappy. They needed to get him smaller jeans, he'd lost too much weight. Upon entering, Niall peered around anxiously, he gripped Liam's hand and whimpered quietly. He was evidently a little anxious being out in public.

At their table, Niall wanted to sit on Louis' lap and when Louis wouldn't let him he whined and tried Liam then. Liam didn't know how to say no but Louis quickly interjected. He knelt down next to Niall before speaking "Niall you need to sit in your own seat like a big boy, you can't sit on mine or Li's lap here, okay?" He asked.

"No," Niall started to cry.

"Niall, if you're good, remember, you'll get your toy," Louis reminded him. Niall sniffled quietly but sat down in his own seat rather solemnly. "Good boy, thank you," Louis smiled as Niall sadly stared at his lap. He was so confused, he was always allowed on Lou and Li's lap whenever he wanted, _why was it different now?_

"What are you gonna have to eat Ni?" Liam asked, pointing to Niall's menu. He just stared at it before glancing to his lap again.

"Milk," he sniffled which made both boys sigh. Liam knew this wasn't going to be easy. He ordered Niall a toastie with ham and cheese, cutting it up for him when it arrived just like Louis always did.

"Eat up," Liam smiled. Niall shook his head and picked up the glass of water from the table, carefully lifting it to his mouth. He misjudged the angle like usual and spilled it down his front. "Careful," Liam held it for him, glancing around to make sure nobody was watching but the restaurant was almost empty.

"Niall, if you eat it up, look what I have," Louis said, pulling Niall's light blue sippy cup from the backpack he had with him for him. Niall's eyes lit up and he smiled.

"Five bites," he held up five fingers to Louis who nodded with a smile. _Maybe this wouldn't be too difficult._ Niall counted as he ate the pieces and basically yelled "five!" He glanced to Louis then who was filling up Niall's sippy cup with his soda. Niall took it grateful and drunk it for a few seconds before putting it down. He ate a few more bites which surprised the boys.

"For being so good and eating so well I think we should go to a sweet shop, what do you think Niall?" Liam asked and Niall's face lit up.

"Yes please!" He squealed as he picked up the sippy cup, finishing what was left in it. Niall surprisingly sat quietly while the boys finished their food. Louis held Liam's hand throughout the meal and squeezed it every so often. They both felt tingles going up their spine and had to stop themselves from smiling.

When they finished, Liam went to pay and Louis went to the bathroom, Niall following him. "Did I invite you?" He raised an eyebrow at Niall, taking his hand. He decided it was better he came so he could check his nappy. He led him into a cubicle, locking the door and turning around to do his business.

"What you doin'?" Niall asked from behind him as Louis was pushing his jeans and boxers down enough so he could go.

"I'm going for a wee, Niall," he responded as Niall watched curiously. Niall peered around Louis side to watch. "Excuse me, could I have some privacy," he pushed Niall back who was giggling.

"Willy," he giggled, putting his face in his hands.

"Yes Niall, willy," Louis rolled his eyes fondly as he shook himself off and tucked himself back in. "Did you do a wee Niall? Louis asked, turning around and groaning when he saw Niall trying to slide under the cubicle door. "Don't do that, that's dirty," Louis pulled a giggling Niall back in.

"Need potty," Niall said through giggles. He started pulling down his trousers, Louis helping when he struggled. He had no issues undoing the tabs on his nappy, Niall was a pro at that by now. When Louis saw Niall was going to stand at the toilet he immediately stopped him.

"Oh no, you are not standing," Louis turned him around to sit on the toilet. "I'm not having you weeing all over this place," he said as Niall sat down and was already peeing before he was sitting. Louis rolled his eyes and sighed when he saw he was peeing on the toilet seat. He pushed Niall back a bit more. He should have known this was a bad idea. "Niall!" He yelled when Niall stood up before he was finished, his last few spurts going onto the floor and his trousers at his feet.

"You are never using the toilet again," Louis said as he put Niall's nappy back on, pulling up his trousers which were a little wet. He'd have to do with these trousers because they hadn't any spares with them. He wiped the floor with some toilet roll before taking Niall to wash his hands. Once they did that, they went to meet Liam who was waiting outside for them."I went potty," Niall proudly smiled as he ran up to Liam.

"Yeah, half on the floor," Louis rolled his eyes as they walked to the shopping centre. Liam led Niall to the sweet shop, letting him pick out whatever he wanted. Niall was in awe, not knowing what sweets to choose. In the end, he came out with way too many sweets but hey, he was happy which was what Liam liked seeing.

After that, the boys decided it was best to take Niall and get him some new clothes. They got him smaller jeans, joggers some shirts and jumpers and then found a whole pile of onesies for him. By the time they were done, Niall was tired. His legs were aching and he was whining about being wet.

Liam took Niall and changed him, coming back to Louis who said they needed to do food shopping before they went home. This was a fatal mistake. Once in the supermarket Niall was crying, holding his hands out to be carried and when Liam wouldn't carry him he just dropped to his bum on the floor and cried loudly.

"Niall stop that and come on, then we'll go get toys," Liam said but Niall didn't budge.

"Want doh-di," Niall cried, kicking his feet against the floors. "And teddy."

"He's tired, he's usually had a nap by now," Liam said to Louis as Niall had a complete meltdown on the floor. Liam grabbed him under his arms, hoisting him up onto his feet. He screamed and stomped his feet before holding his hands out to Liam.

"Come on Niall, we won't be long, you can go choose a toy then," Louis said. Niall shook his head and sobbed the whole way through the next two aisles, being dragged along by a blushing Liam. By the time they got to the third, Niall gave up again and dropped to the floor sobbing.

"Tired," he cried, rubbing his eyes which were burning. His legs were too sore to keep walking. To make matters worse his tummy was beginning to hurt too which only made him feel worse. In Niall's head, he couldn’t do anything else but cry. He was feeling too sad right now.

Fighting his instincts, Liam had enough of Niall's screaming and hated seeing him this upset. He picked up Niall who stopped crying immediately and calmed down once he was in Liam's arms. Liam got a dummy out of Louis' backpack and gave it to Niall who calmed down completely then, sniffling quietly as he rubbed his eyes.

Niall stayed quiet the rest of the time, his head rested on Liam's shoulder, sucking quietly on his dummy. He didn't lift his head once, he was too exhausted.

When they were done and it was finally time to go to the toy shop, Niall has little interest in going. Although once he was inside he didn't cry when Liam placed him on his feet. Liam smiled as he watched him walk up an aisle sleepily with his hair going in all directions, waddling slightly because of the bulky nappy separating his legs.

He disappeared then so he ran up the aisle and found Niall in a ball pit. He smiled sleepily at Liam. "Lou look," he called Louis who was walking behind Liam.

"Aww neat Niall, you want one of these for being such a good boy?" Louis asked to which Niall nodded, holding his hands out again to Liam.

"Daddy," he whined, which made Liam's eyes widen. He thought daddy was a one off thing. He didn't know how he felt about this but he picked up Niall anyway as Louis got one of the ball pits and a few bags of colourful balls. Louis paid for it and then the boys went out to the car. Once Niall was in the car, he fell asleep.

When they arrived home, Niall started crying as he was lifted out of the car, not liking the fact his nap was interrupted. Inside, Liam took off Niall's skinny jeans and shoes. Niall then tried taking his nappy off again but Liam stopped him, scolding him and telling him it had to stay on.

He started crying loudly then, glancing around the room. "Hey Ni, come on, go back to sleep," Louis held his hands out to Niall who lethargically walked over. Louis pulled him onto his lap and cuddled him tightly. He wrapped the two of them in a blanket and as soon as Niall got his teddy and dummy he was sleeping again. After a while, Liam got up, taking Niall from Louis’ arms. He gently picked him up and then tucked him into bed upstairs in his crib before coming down again.

He jumped on the couch next to Louis, smiling at him. “He’s out for the count,” Liam smiled, reaching and taking Louis’ hand. Louis smiled and shifted closer to Liam. The two stared into one another eyes for a few seconds before Liam broke it, looking to Louis’ plush lips and then back to his eyes. The two were breathing heavily as they watched one another, each too scared to make a move. Louis reached forward, placing his hand on Liam’s cheek. He rubbed the pad of his thumb on his cheek gently, smiling softly at him. The side of Liam’s mouth twitched before he grabbed Louis around the waist and pulled him onto his lap, the two crashing their lips together.

Their lips molded together perfectly, Liam grabbing the hair on the nape of Louis’ neck, his other hand resting on Louis’ waist. Louis wrapped his arms around Liam’s neck, sucking on his lower lip. Liam dropped his mouth open and allowed Louis to explore his mouth for the first time.

The pair made out for a few minutes and wouldn’t have stopped, only their lungs were demanding air. When they pulled back, they breathed heavily as they looked into one another’s eyes. Neither knew what to say but they both knew they fucking liked whatever was going on between them.

Liam pushed Louis back on the couch and got on top of him, sucking on his neck. Louis didn’t stop him. He was enjoying this as much as Liam was and frankly, he didn’t want to stop. After Liam sucked a few marks on Louis’ neck, he pulled back, glancing down at Louis who was groaning quietly. His eyelids fluttered open and he watched Liam with half lidded eyes.

“Sorry,” Liam sheepishly spoke as his cheeks blushed a little, feeling as though he may have taken it a bit too far.

“Keep going,” Louis breathed. Liam smirked and nodding, getting back between Louis’ legs but as soon as he did, they both heard cries coming from upstairs. “Fuck,” Louis sat up as did Liam.

“Fuck is right,” he ran a hand through his hair as he stood up, a little dismayed they didn’t get to finish whatever was going to happen - if anything was going to happen. Just as Louis was going to get up, Liam stopped him. “I’ll go get Niall, you seem to have something else you have to tend to,” he nodded towards Louis’ crotch with a smirk before taking a stance. Louis chuckled while Liam left the room and went upstairs to Niall who was hanging over the bars of the crib crying.

Liam cooed and went over, quickly finding out Niall just needed a nappy change and once he was changed he wanted back to sleep.  As soon as Niall was asleep, Liam got into bed too, Louis soon joining him -once he had dealt with his _‘problem_ ’.

“All good?” Liam chuckled, pulling Louis closer to him. Louis giggled quietly as he rested his head on Liam’s chest. He hummed quietly in response as Liam wrapped his arms around him.

  
…

The following day, Niall was cranky all morning and afternoon, not in good humour. He had a sore tummy which just put him in a terrible mood but he didn’t know how to tell the boys that so he just conveyed it to them through his actions. He cried and pulled at the boys' hair, throwing toys (and tantrums). His biggest tantrum occurred when Louis changed the channel from Peppa pig to the football game to check the score. _Fatal mistake_.

“No!” Niall screamed and ran over to Louis, hitting his chest repeatedly. He cried loudly and screamed as he hit Louis who quickly grabbed Niall’s wrists. This caused more screams to emit and Niall began kicking his legs.

“Niall, I was only checking the score, no need to attack me,” Louis calmly said as he held Niall’s wrists which were trying to hit him again. Louis held him until he fell to the ground on his bum and just sobbed loudly.

“Peppa,” he hiccuped, tears running down his face. Louis rolled his eyes and turned the channel back. Niall’s cries turned to sniffles and he turned around to watch the telly again. He picked up his dummy and returned his full attention to the show. Louis decided not to scold him for the outburst because he knew he was already upset enough today for unknown reasons.

Soon a muffled fart came from Niall who was sat on the floor watching Peppa. He lifted his bottom from the rug and Louis immediately knew why he had been so grumpy. With a red face, he started to grunt quietly. He moved to a squatting position, not moving his eyes from the telly as he began to push little chunks out which all piled up together at his bottom.

A few minutes of grunting and straining later Niall sat on his bottom again, scrunching his face up when it all mushed up against his bum. He hated that feeling but he didn’t want to move from watching Peppa. He sighed contently as he started peeing into his nappy, he loved that feeling and now his tummy was feeling better too!

“Niall,” Louis said after a few moments. “Come on, I think we need to change your nappy, mister,” he raised an eyebrow. Niall glanced at him over his shoulder and shook his head.

“Peppa,” he pointed to the telly and averted his attention back to it.

“Come on, we’ll only be a few minutes,” Louis said, holding his hand out to Niall. When Niall didn’t take it, he hoisted him up under his arms only to have Niall scream and kick his legs. Louis sighed and put him down again and as soon as he did, Niall ran down the hallway, screaming “no!” Louis groaned and facepalmed himself before walking down the hall where Niall was running. Niall saw him and screamed before running the other way to the kitchen.

“I swear to God,” Louis shook his head, rubbing a face over his hand. He walked into the kitchen and Niall was standing at the other end of the kitchen island, when Louis walked around, Niall ran the other way. They went around it two times before Niall ran off then and Louis groaned.

“Liam, Niall’s being annoying and I’m too tired to catch him,” Louis dropped his head to Liam’s chest. He wasn’t really that tired, he just wanted to cuddle Liam. Liam chuckled and wrapped his arms around Louis, rocking their bodies back and forth. He placed a gentle kiss on Louis’ temple before whispering he’d handle it.

Liam went on the hunt for Niall and soon found him back watching telly, but when Liam walked in he immediately stood up to run away again. “Niall, come here you can-“ before Liam even finished his sentence Niall had run off again. Niall screamed the whole way down the hall again while Liam ran after him. He caught him at the door of the spare bedroom, grabbing Niall around the waist and lifting him up.

“No!” Niall screamed, kicking his legs. He cried loudly in Liam’s arms as he carried him to the living room. He set Niall down and turned around to get a clean nappy and wipes and when he turned around again, Niall was gone. He groaned quietly but then saw Niall’s hair poking out from under some of the balls in the ball pit.

“Ni, come on, you can watch Peppa while I change you,” Liam offered. Niall cried quietly as he lifted his head. “Come over here,” Liam sat on the floor next to the changing mat he laid out. “I have your dummy,” he held up his favourite blue dummy with the stars on it. Niall slowly got out of the ball pit, taking the dummy from Liam before lying down. “Thank you, Niall,” he smiled, leaning down and kissing each of Niall’s cheeks, which had him giggling quietly.

As soon as Liam went to pull down Niall’s trousers, he was crying quietly, looking rather scared. It was only the second dirty nappy Liam had changed for Niall, so Niall still naturally felt scared. He didn’t want to get owies again like his daddy always gave him.

Liam cooed quietly and tried to calm Niall down but he was shaking as he watched Liam with watery eyes. “Look at Peppa,” Liam tried to distract Niall who only watched for a few seconds and was back to crying quietly. Liam sighed and opened Niall’s nappy, holding his breath as he did. Niall flinched while he did and was sobbing loudly. Liam didn’t know what to do to calm him so he just cleaned him up with (a lot of) wipes, all the while Niall cried and mumbled “sorwy” every so often which made Liam feel terrible. He got another nappy and placed it under Niall’s bottom, taping it up. He leaned down then and blew raspberries on Niall’s tummy in an effort to get him to giggle. After a few seconds, Niall began laughing, grabbing Liam’s hair and holding him down on his tummy. Liam did it again and Niall squealed, giggling loudly. He did it a few more times before sitting up and smiling down at Niall.

“Such a good boy,” he smiled, helping Niall sit up and then giving him a cuddle. Niall sniffled quietly as he buried his face in Liam’s chest. Liam smiled as Louis came and sat next to them. He smiled softly at the two of them and rest his head on Liam’s shoulder. Liam glanced down at him, leaning down and pecking Louis’ on the lips.

Neither of them ever thought they would be together like this, and neither of them ever anticipated looking after Niall like this. They both knew they were content with whatever was going on between them, no matter how weird the situation. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Leave requests and suggestions down below, I love hearing what you guys want to read and then writing it! 
> 
> Thanks for the support, all the love, A Xx


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't edit this yet! So please excuse any mistakes ! Ps. it's extra long today so enjoyyyyy! X

A few days later, Louis had his own space in Liam’s wardrobe and rarely ever left the two on their own. Liam was just as clingy as Niall was and frankly, Louis didn’t want to leave either of them. He was beginning to grow attached to both Niall and Liam.

Harry arrived at their house one afternoon with bags of things for Niall. “Oh God Harry, what have you got now?” Liam chuckled as he saw him struggling to drag the bags in.

He brought an adult highchair for Niall, declaring that if he was in a headspace, he needed one. Liam didn’t complain, he thought it may come in handy considering Niall can be difficult to get to sit at the table sometimes. Harry had also brought a pushchair, which was larger than normal ones but still looked pretty tiny considering it was meant for an adult. Although Niall wasn’t typical adult size so he knew Niall would have no issues fitting into it. He personally hoped he would never have to go out in public with that.

Harry had also brought some more bottles, dummies, and other various items that wouldn’t go amiss, as well as some toys which Niall got extremely excited about. Although he noticed Harry had failed to bring nappies, which they were quickly running out of. Liam hated repurchasing them. 

Niall soon had Harry wrapped around his pinky finger and got him to play with him for ages, crying anytime Harry said he had to go. According to Niall, Harry was the best playmate. “Niall, bud, I have to go home,” Harry said after another while and immediately Niall turned on the tears. When Harry stood, Niall crawled over and grabbed him around the legs.

“No,” he cried. Harry felt torn, his eyebrows furrowing as he watched Niall cry loudly at his feet. He reached down and picked up Niall who clung to him, wrapping his arms around his neck. His cries softened in Harry’s arms. “Don’t go,” he hiccuped. “Love ‘Arry,” Niall mumbled as he buried his face into Harry’s neck. Harry didn't know if Niall was being sincere or he was just attempting to emotionally manipulate Harry. Either way, it worked. 

“Awww,” Harry cooed as he held Niall close to him. Niall’s cries soon subdued and he felt wetness on his neck. He wasn’t sure if they were tears or Niall was drooling - possibly both.

“Stay for lunch,” Liam insisted. “Louis is cooking,” he chuckled as Niall lifted his head from Harry’s shoulder, a string of drool dribbling onto Harry’s shirt. Harry reached forward and gently wiped under Niall’s mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, watching a small smile tug at Niall’s lips. Harry then leaned his head forward and rubbed his and Niall’s noses together with a smile, giving him an Eskimo kiss which made Niall giggle happily.

“Well, Niall’s chosen his favourite,” Louis chuckled as Niall smiled brightly at Harry, reaching up and starting to play with his hair.

“Are you going to do my hair for me?” Harry asked and Niall nodded his head frantically with a giggle. Until the food was ready, Harry was sat with Niall behind him playing with his hair. He had put an abundance of hair ties and copious amounts of clips all over Harry’s hair and he just looked ridiculous really. “Ah wow Ni, it looks amazing!” Harry sounded genuine which surprised both Liam and Louis.

“Come on, let’s go eat,” he held a hand out to Niall who took it and waddled behind Harry to the kitchen. Harry lifted Niall into his new highchair which had Niall looking rather perplexed. _Why wasn’t he sitting on somebodies lap today?_ He wanted to sit on Harry’s today.

He watched the boys who were putting the food out, wriggling in his highchair. He realised he couldn’t get out himself. Kicking his legs, he thrashed around and then started crying, hitting the plastic tray of the highchair as he bounced on the padding. “Hey, hey calm down,” Harry came over to Niall, taking Niall’s hand in his. “What’s wrong?”

“Wan’ out,” he cried, holding his hands out to Harry then. “Cuddles,” he sniffled which made Harry want to pick him up immediately and cuddle Niall for as long as he wanted him to. He was about to take him out when Louis stopped him,

“Hey, he’ll calm down, let him get used to it,” Louis spoke and Harry nodded. Louis always knew best whenever it came to babies and kids so he decided to take his advice. Harry sat down unsurely next to Niall who began thrashing around again. He handed Niall a plate then when Liam had put his food on it, all cut up and ready for him to eat. Niall cried and went to throw his plate off the highchair but Harry caught it just in time.

“Out ‘Arry, please,” Niall cried, holding out his hands.

“Niall, look at your new sippy cup, who’s on it?” Harry asked, trying to distract Niall. He held up Niall’s new sippy cup which was purple and had Peppa pig on it. Niall’s face immediately lit up and he grinned at Harry.

“Peppa!” He squealed and made grabby hands for it.

“Eat some of your food first and you can have it,” Harry raised an eyebrow at Niall who whined. Niall exhaled dramatically before quietening down and eating along with everyone else. He counted quietly with eat bite he took under his breath.

“Done!” Niall proudly held up his plate he had cleared. Louis actually looked around his highchair and down the sides because he thought Niall had just thrown what was on it away. He was more than baffled to find Niall actually ate it all without any commotion or persuasion.

“Well done Niall!” Everyone praised a very smiley Niall who was grinning sheepishly. Harry handed Niall the Peppa Pig sippy cup, leaving Niall euphoric. Although, that euphoria didn’t last long because just before Liam was going to clear up the plates, Niall went a little pale and a few seconds later threw up what he just ate. He dropped his sippy cup and started to cry loudly while the three boys just glanced at one another, not knowing who was going to address the situation first.

Liam stood up and untied Niall before picking him up and placing him on his hip. “Oh Ni, did you eat too much?” He cooed as Louis went and got some cleaning supplies to clean the highchair. Liam just assumed his tummy wasn’t used to receiving so much food in one taking, seeing as he had been eating very little over the past few weeks.

Niall sobbed quietly before he burped, leaning over Liam’s arm and got sick again, thankfully just on the floor and not all over Liam. Liam was more than grateful for this. He brought Niall to the living room where he stripped him off and cleaned around his mouth with baby wipes. Harry came in with a bottle of water for Niall, handing it to him. Niall just allowed it drop to the floor, watching it roll away as Liam took his temperature.

“It’s high,” he told Harry who was fetching his bottle. “Get Calpol please for me, I think he might have a fever,” Liam said, feeling his forehead which was burning up a little. Harry nodded and fetched the bottle of Calpol. He held a spoon of it out to Niall who moved his head to avoid it. Liam eventually just shoved the spoonful into his mouth which caused Niall to gag and spit it out, all too late in realising it actually was palatable. He then held his mouth open for more which made Liam chuckle as he spooned more into his mouth.

“Now, drink up your water for me please,” Liam handed him the bottle again. He took a few sips before dropping it and rubbing his eyes. He felt tired and icky, his tummy hurt and all he wanted now were cuddles. Harry took Niall onto his lap and rocked him gently, stopping when he realised it may make him sick again so instead he just held him close to his chest.

“Are you feeling okay?” Harry asked after a few minutes, pressing his lips to the top of Niall’s head. Niall shook his head silently, he didn’t feel very good but Harry’s cuddles were making him feel a little better at least. He began to feel sleepy then, his eyes closing as he sucked on his thumb.

When Louis entered the room, he cooed when he saw Niall all cuddled up with Harry. “Ni, want a nap?” Louis asked, coming over and nudging him gently. He looked to Louis with half-lidded eyes as though saying _‘what did you just interrupt me like that for?’_ “Come on, bud, you’re tired,” he held his hands out to Niall. Niall didn’t want to move from Harry’s lap though so when Louis lifted him he started crying. He didn’t know how else to tell Louis he didn’t want to be moved other than to cry.

Louis shushed him, rubbing his back as he carried him upstairs. This calmed Niall for the most part as he thought Louis was just going to give him cuddles then but Niall soon realised this wasn’t the case when Louis placed him into his crib. _Why was he putting him in here?_ All Niall wanted was to be held and cuddled.

“Shhh Ni, don’t cry,” Louis gave Niall his teddy and gently pushed his dummy between his lips were soft cries were coming from. They softened once he got his dummy and his mouth began sucking on the dummy, his eyes watching Louis from behind the bars.

Louis kneeled down next to Niall, reaching in between the bars and gently stroking his hair, running his hands through it. Niall’s eyes fluttered closed as he did this, sucking harder on his dummy. Louis smiled as he watched him, staying with Niall until the bobbing of the dummy slowed, it eventually ceased and Niall’s breathing became heavier, indicating Niall had fallen asleep.

Louis stood once he was sleeping, leaving the room and going downstairs to the kitchen where Liam was washing the dishes. “Niall’s sleeping,” he smiled as he wrapped his arms around Liam’s waist. Liam tilted his head back so it was rested on Louis’ shoulder. Louis kissed his lips gently before Liam lifted his head and went back to washing. “We really shouldn’t waste time while he’s sleeping,” Louis pressed his lips to the sensitive skin on Liam’s neck, kissing it gently which had Liam weak at the knees. Louis smirked against his skin before beginning to suck on it gently. A groan fell from between Liam’s lips and he had to grip the sink to keep his balance. “We shouldn’t waste making out time,” Louis muttered against Liam’s ignited skin.

Liam immediately turned around, wrapping his arms around Louis’ neck before smashing their lips together. Louis leaned back in surprise, smiling against his lips before kissing back quickly, gripping Liam’s waist. Louis groaned into Liam’s mouth just as Harry appeared in the doorway, his eyes immediately widening when he saw what he was met with. _Since when have Louis and Liam been onto one another,_ he thought to himself.

“Jesus Christ,” Harry muttered quickly and Louis and Liam quickly pulled back and turned to face Harry. Both their eyes widened as they had forgotten about Harry’s presence. “When did this happen?” He asked, his eyes still wide.

“Uh… not long ago,” Louis responded, taking Liam’s hand and squeezing it gently.

“Well, if you guys are happy, I’m happy for you,” he smiled assuringly at the two which made them smile. Liam had been anxious about telling people, as only his family had known he was gay, but Harry’s reaction to this made him feel more confident.

“Thank you,” Liam smiled brightly.

“I guess I’ll leave you two alone now Niall’s asleep. I’ll come back later this evening,” Harry smiled before leaving the two boys to it. Liam led Louis to the couch where they sat down in the hopes of making out for a little while before Niall woke up.

Meanwhile, upstairs Niall woke up when his tummy started cramping. He sat up, feeling rather disorientated as he gripped the bars to steady himself. He groaned quietly as he fell back down onto his back, feeling a little dizzy. He stared at the ceiling which was spinning above him before it came into focus. Before Niall knew he was even doing it, he felt the back of his nappy growing warm. He wanted to cry as it literally ran out of his backside into the nappy. He tried to stop it, but even if he wasn’t weak, he wouldn’t have been able to. He lay helplessly as muffled wet farts came from between his legs, each time, more poop mushing between his bum and the nappy. It felt horrible.

When he was done, his bum hole was stinging and he felt horrible with the full nappy weighing between his legs. He wanted to cry but he didn’t have the energy, he was too dehydrated at this point. He turned his head to the side, watching the door and waiting to see when the boys would come and check on them, but he may have had a long wait in store for him.

Downstairs, the boys were still making out, just enjoying feeling one another’s lip. They didn’t intend to take it any further, just kissing was nice for now. After a while they finished and so Liam pulled Louis into his arms, letting him rest his head on his chest while they watched the telly. “I hope Niall is okay,” Louis said quietly. “I don’t want the poor little lad to be ill,” he sighed.

“Maybe I should check on him,” Liam said gently shifting Louis so he could stand up. Louis nodded in agreement and sat waiting for Liam to return. Liam opened the door to his bedroom and got a little worried when he saw Niall lying staring at the door. If Niall was awake, he was generally screaming the house down to make it known he was awake and wanted out.

“Aw Ni, are you okay?” Liam asked, coming over to Niall who didn’t move as he walked in. This worried Liam to quite an extent. He leaned down and picked up Niall’s limp body, immediately getting the smell and knowing Niall had messed his nappy. Niall let out a wet fart as Liam placed a hand under Niall’s bottom to steady him and he soon felt it running out of him again. He hated this, it made him feel disgusting. He cried quietly into Liam’s shoulder, clinging onto him as his bowels betrayed him.

Liam brought Niall into the bathroom, laying him down on the changing mat. Niall started trying to sit up, not wanting to be changed. “No,” he cried but his body flopped back onto his back again.

“Ni, calm down, it’s okay,” Liam tried to soothe him as he got the supplies ready. Niall just cried harder, not wanting to be changed. He hated being changed after messing his nappy, he didn’t think he’d ever not feel anxieties towards it anymore.

Liam sighed quietly when he saw Niall’s body shaking in fear. He felt a little inadequate. He’d been trying his best to make Niall feel comfortable during changes but it obviously wasn’t working. He wanted to be able to mollify Niall’s anxieties around this but he evidently couldn’t. He felt as though he was doing something wrong even though he was trying his best. He continued to start changing Niall anyway. His eyes widened when he opened Niall’s onesie, he was shocked to find Niall’s nappy had leaked and it was running down his thigh. He scrunched his face up and got wipes, cleaning it off his leg before opening his nappy and tackling that mess then.

Niall started crying loudly when Liam wiped around his hole with the wipes because that’s where was stinging badly. Liam finished as quickly as he could and taped a new nappy around Niall’s waist before picking him up and holding him close to his chest in an effort to soothe his cries. He brought Niall downstairs and got him a bottle full of water, which Niall drank down as quick as the nipple of the bottle would let him. “Is he okay?” Louis asked a little concerned as he started drinking the second bottle Liam got him then, although he drank this one slower.

“He just had the runs, like really bad,” Liam emphasised. “He needs that water,” he said as he took his temperature, seeing that it had gone down from when he last took it.

“It’s probably just a stomach bug then,” Louis shrugged. “He’ll probably be better by morning,” he said as he reached down and gently played with Niall’s hair. He lay on the couch with Niall then, who just clung onto him the whole time, not wanting anything else but to be held. Harry arrived again then and when Liam explained the situation to him he kind of wanted to give him cuddles but kind of wanted to keep his distance so he wouldn’t get sick.

Some time later, Niall was filling his nappy again, glancing up at Louis hesitantly when he was done, not knowing how he would react. When Niall saw him sniffing the air, he started to cry quietly. “Liam, Niall just went again,” he told Liam who was sitting on the other couch.

“Okay nice, your turn to change him,” he smiled.

“No, I’m not changing him, you can change him,” Louis insisted.

“I changed the last one and the other two dirty nappies, it’s your turn buddy,” Liam snapped, not looking up from his phone then. He was just not in the mood for another dirty nappy today.

“He doesn’t call me daddy, so you can change him, daddy.”

“I don’t want to change him again!” Liam yelled.

“Neither do I!” Louis yelled back and Niall slid off the couch, hiding behind it as the two lads bickered back and forth. He didn’t like all this yelling. It just reminded him of being with his da. It scared him. A lot.

“You haven’t changed one yet, you grow some balls and-“

“Oh for Gods sake will one of you change him?!” Harry exclaimed as Niall cried loudly from behind the couch, feeling rather overwhelmed. He just wanted everyone to stop yelling. It scared him.

“You do it then!” Louis and Liam both simultaneously exclaimed, looking to one another before glancing to Harry.

“Okay, I’m going home,” Harry stood up while both boys sighed and looked to one another. They both knew someone was going to have to do it, but neither of them wanted to. It was bad enough changing a dirty nappy, never mind when they leaked everywhere and smelled worse.

The boys then realised Niall had moved and suddenly got worried as the glanced around. They looked to one another with wide eyes before face-palming themselves for being so childish and scaring him.

“I hate us,” Louis said as he looked behind the couch and found a trembling Niall who cried, “cá bhfuil mhamaí?”

“What’s he saying?” Liam asked, giving a solicitous glance.

“He’s speaking Irish…” Louis trailed off. “I have no idea,”

“Tá mé ag iarraidh mo mhamaí!” He sobbed, his shoulder dropping as he bowed his head, tears falling onto his legs. His tiny frame was shaking significantly as he sat there.

“He’s saying something about his mum, I think,” Louis bit on his nail as he watched Niall who looked rather upset. Liam sighed deeply and went over, picking up Niall who cried even louder. He hushed him gently, rubbing his back and apologising, telling him everything would be okay. He took him upstairs and changed him, all the while Niall cried over and over again about ‘mamaí’.

“Niall, can you talk English to us?” Liam asked as he taped a new nappy on Niall’s waist but instead he just continued to cry whatever it was he was crying in Irish. Louis asked Siri to translate what Niall was saying as he cried over and over “cá bhfuil mo mhamaí? Tá mé ag iarriadh mo mhamaí”

“It says he saying ‘where’s my mummy? I want my mummy’ on here,” Louis bit his lip, suddenly feeling rather bad for Niall. Niall, who was sitting feeling desolate. All he wanted right now was his mummy. His mummy never yelled at him, his mummy usually nice to Niall, but not always. She gave him owies like da but she never yelled at him. Niall hated yelling, he hated it more than hitting.

“Aww Niall,” Liam cooed as he pulled a sobbing Niall to his chest. “Do you miss your mammy?” Liam asked and Niall shook his head. This made both boys frown. Why would he cry about wanting his mum if he didn’t miss her?

“Ni maith liom screadaíl, stad,” he sobbed into Liam’s shoulder as Harry walked into the room wondering what was going on. Louis and Liam looked to him, both of them looking as lost as the other. Neither knew what to do, they couldn’t even understand what Niall was saying. Louis asked Niall to say it again and Siri translated it as ‘I don’t like screaming, stop’. This left the boys stupefied. None of them knew what this meant.

“He doesn’t like screaming?” Louis asked just as Niall got sick on the floor again and then continued to sob loudly into Liam’s shoulder. Liam rubbing Niall’s back in an attempt to soothe him while giving the boys a helpless glance. None of them knew what to do.

A few minutes of cries passed before Niall pulled back from Liam’s shoulder, all tear stained and snotty nosed. Harry handed Liam a tissue and he went to wipe Niall’s face and nose but Niall was off his lap before he could, crawling to the door and sitting in the doorway.

“Will we clean this up?” Liam asked Harry, hoping he would aid him in doing so. He didn’t particularly fancy cleaning up again.

“Why me?” Harry exclaimed.

“Just help me!” Liam rolled his eyes.

“No fucking way,” Harry snapped back.

“Oh well thanks, you’re so fucking helpful,” Liam yelled and Niall whined, quickly crawling out of the room as Liam and Harry continued to bicker over who was going to clean up.

“Where do you think you’re going, mister?” Louis asked as he followed Niall. Niall sat up on his knees and reached for the door handle, crying as he did. “Do you wanna go out?” Louis asked and Niall nodded, falling onto his bottom as he waited for Louis to open the door. Niall himself, didn’t know where he wanted to go, he just wanted to get out of the house. He hated all this yelling, he just wanted to get out of the environment. “Niall, you’re poorly, its better if you stay inside,” Louis said, putting his hand on the knob of the door which made Niall break down and start sobbing louder.

“Please,” Niall cried, rubbing his eyes. He was getting tired now which Louis noticed and that’s why he thought Niall was throwing a fit.

“Okay, come with me, we’ll get ready and go for a walk,” Louis offered a hand to Niall who stood up wobbly before taking it. Louis got shoes and a coat on Niall before lifting him into the pushchair Harry got, deciding to give it a go. Niall was going to cry again when he did this but he was too tired to kick up a fuss so he allowed Louis to buckle him in and swaddle a fluffy blanket around him.

“Doh-di,” Niall sniffled, breathing heavily through his mouth because his nose was full of snot from crying so excessively today. Louis popped a dummy between Niall’s lips, handing him his teddy he knew he would only whine for in a few minutes. Niall cuddled the teddy close to his face as Louis pushed him out the front door.

He walked down the street with Niall, watching him endearingly at how he seemed in awe at everything, his head shooting to the left anytime a car passed by; how he looked up through his eyelashes at the birds flying above them. Louis noticed this was the most alert he had been all day. He suddenly didn’t look ill anymore. It dawned on Louis they were probably keeping him cooped up too much and fresh air would do him some good every so often.

After they’d been walking for a while, Niall got sleepy, sitting back in the pushchair. He sucked happily on his dummy as he watched around happily at his surroundings. Louis turned the pushchair to take Niall home then, watching Niall as his eyes fluttered open and closed.

When they arrived home Niall was asleep so Louis lifted him up to bed, hoping he’d sleep for the night now because it had been a long day with sick Niall. As soon as Niall was tucked in bed, Louis went down to Liam. He curled up next to him on the couch, resting his head on his chest. “Niall loves walks,” Louis smiled at Liam.

“Does he?” He sounded surprised.

Louis nodded, “I guess. He was so alert and watching everything, he looked pretty content in the pushchair compared to ten minutes prior in the bathroom,” Louis said as Harry came in with tea for everyone.

“Hey, I was thinking,” Harry began. “I’ll take Niall a day when he gets better now and you and Liam can have a little date or something, is that a good idea?” Harry asked with a smile as he sat down. He sipped on his tea as he awaited his response.

Louis and Liam both glanced to one another, smiling and nodding. “Yeah, that would be really nice, Harry,” nodded Liam. “We’d appreciate that.”

“I’ll keep him maybe, Saturday night? So you can have all day, and all night,” he winked at the end of his sentence, a predicable smirk covering his features. Liam blushed and bowed his head whereas Louis returned the smirk to Harry, adding “yeah, that would be lovely.”

“Would Niall be okay with that?” Liam injected. He was suddenly a little weary of the though of leaving Niall in someone else’s house for the night. He wasn’t sure why he was so anxious about the thought of Niall being in unknown territory. He knew Niall got apprehensive in places he wasn’t sure of and if he or Louis weren’t there to comfort him, who would? Harry doesn’t know Niall like he and Louis do.

“I’m sure he will, he loves Harry,” Louis said, glancing up at Liam through his eyelashes.

“Well, if you think so,” Liam said, leaning down and pecking his lips. “You do know best,” he smiled softly stroking Louis’ cheek affectionately.

  
…

In the morning, the boys were exhausted. Niall had been up during the night ill and needed quite a number of nappy changes. Liam dealt with the nappy while Louis cleaned him up any time he was sick. He refused to sleep in his crib, demanding to sleep between both boys. Had they not been so tired, they would have missed cuddling one another.

Niall woke them up at seven, feeling much better. Even though they were both tired, they couldn’t help but smile back at Niall’s beaming face above them. “Morning Niall,” Liam rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with the palms of his hands.

“Are you feeling better?” Louis asked, running a hand through his dishevelled hair. Niall just sat silently before sliding off the bed and heading for the door, sitting on his bum as he waited for someone to open it.

“You stay in bed and sleep, babe, I’ve got him,” Liam leaned down and gently kissed Louis’ forehead. He opened the door, letting Niall crawl out in front of him. Niall went to the stairs but turned quickly when Liam headed to the bathroom, scrabbling to get in with him. Liam waited for him, knowing Niall would only cry at the door if he didn’t let him in.

Liam did his usual morning routine in the bathroom while Niall just sat on the floor, rather quiet this morning. He would usually find something to mess with in the bathroom but this morning he just sat quietly. Niall watched Liam as he brushed his teeth, trimmed his beard and did his hair.

Downstairs, Niall was much the same. He sat quietly and just still wasn’t himself. He was in a strange mood, he didn’t want to be touched but he would scream anytime Liam left him on his own.

When Liam lifted him out of his highchair after breakfast he screamed and kicked his legs until he was put down. He then sat on the rug in the living room crying. This broke Liam’s heart, he didn’t know what was wrong with Niall or why he was upset. When he tried to make Niall feel better, he wouldn’t even look at him.

He then remembered what Louis said last night and glanced down at Niall. “Wanna go for a walk, Ni?” He asked Niall, whose head immediately shot up to look at Liam. Niall nodded and crawled over to Liam with watery eyes. Liam smiled softly and picked Niall up, carrying him to the front door where his pushchair was sitting from last night. He buckled in a much happier looking Niall.

Louis was right when he said Niall looked so content outside. He seemed so intrigued by everything going on around him. When they arrived home Liam unbuckled Niall who went to the living room and sat on the rug starting to play with his toys. “Liam! Come here!” Louis yelled from where he was sitting on the couch behind Niall. Niall whimpered and covered his ears, looking back at Louis who had his phone in hand. “Liam!” He yelled louder when Liam didn’t come.

“What?!” Liam yelled as he walked into the room. This was when Niall stood up and ran out of the room. Louis showed Liam some things he wanted to order Niall online. “You seriously yelled on me like someone was dying for this?” Liam asked, although he couldn’t help but smile because Louis was damn cute.

“Yep,” Louis smiled. Liam rolled his eyes fondly, resting his head on Louis’ shoulder as he showed him everything he wanted to show him. It was ten minutes later, the two soon realised Niall was no longer in the room. The two went on the hunt for him but couldn’t find him anywhere and suddenly got worried.

Liam began panicking but then as he walked past the hall closet, he heard soft cries coming from behind the door. He felt relief flow through him, opening the door where he found Niall cowering behind some coats. “Hey Ni, what’s wrong?” Liam frowned. He had no idea what was wrong with Niall. Niall just cried louder, his body trembling as he buried his face in his knees which were tucked to his chest.

Liam knelt down next to Niall, trying to pull him into his arms but he just flinched away. “Ca bhfuil mo mhamaí?” Niall asked in tears. Liam sighed deeply when he heard Niall begin to speak in Irish again.

Liam went to Louis, telling him he was worried about him. “When’s he going to the psychologist?” Louis asked, glancing to the hallway where he could see Niall still cowering in the closet.

“He got an appointment for tomorrow actually, I was going to cancel it though because he was unwell,” Liam informed Louis.

“No, take him. She might be able to tell us why he gets like this.” Louis said, running a hand over his face. He wanted to help Niall, but he didn’t know what to do. He then saw Niall crawl out, crying as he went to the front door, just like last night.”Oi,mister, where do you think you’re going?” Louis asked, running to the front door which Niall was about to open. “Do you wanna go out?” Louis asked Niall who nodded.”Well, come on, we’ll get some shoes on you and go out the back to play,” he held hand out to Niall who took it.

Niall sniffled as Louis lead him out the back, through the sliding glass doors to the patio. Below that was a massive lawn - which was fenced - with a lot of room for Niall to run around if he pleased. Louis threw a football onto the lawn which Niall immediately ran for, giggling as he did. Louis started laughing when he saw Niall try to kick the ball, only to fall onto his bottom. Niall looked over his shoulder at Louis, laughing as well. He suddenly had forgotten about all his worries and anxieties now that he was outside just having fun.

“Come on, you can do better than that,” Louis came over, kicking the ball which Niall just ran after, picking it up and giggling. “That’s a foul boy, you’re not meant to touch the ball during football,” Louis teased and went to catch Niall who ran away squealing loudly. Louis ran after Niall for a few minutes, getting out of puff himself. He didn’t know how Niall had the energy to keep going. “I’ll catch you,” Louis breathed heavily, leaning his hands on the top of his thighs to catch his breath.

“No!” Niall giggled before tripping over his own feet. Louis ran to him, expecting him to be crying but he just lay on the grass giggling, looking at Louis who was standing above him. Louis smiled down at Niall, who let the ball roll off his chest next to him. Niall sat up and pushed the ball so it rolled, crawling after it and squealing. Louis chuckled fondly at how excited he was getting over a ball.

“Wanna play catch?” Louis asked, scooping up the ball. Niall made grabby hands for it again. A smile was etched on Louis’ face as he stepped back and then gently rolled the ball towards Niall who grabbed it as quick as he could. “Throw back,” Louis held his hands out. Niall went full throttle with it and flung it at Louis who caught it just before it hit his face.”Jesus, you’re dangerous,” Louis chuckled as he rolled the ball back to Niall. This went on for a full forty minutes and Niall was more than entertained, it was Louis who got bored.

“Lou,” Niall whined when he stopped playing.

“I’m going to go get a drink for us, I’ll be back in a minute, bud,” He ruffled Niall’s hair before going inside and getting him a sippy cup of juice. Niall grateful took it and began drinking it as Louis sat on the patio with Liam, sipping on some tea. The two chatted while watching Niall run around the lawn with the ball. He just loved being outside, it made him feel more free.

When Louis saw Niall freeze, placing his hands on his crotch, he knew Niall needed a nappy change. “Ni, let’s go inside now, you need a change,” Louis held a hand out to Niall who immediately shook his head. He had long since needed a change but he didn’t want to go inside, he was having way too much fun here.

“Don’t need a change,” Niall lied, holding the ball tight to his chest. Louis frowned, he was sure he knew Niall’s mannerisms by now… did he not?

“Let me check,” Louis raised an eyebrow at him.

“No!” Niall screamed and ran off with his ball. Louis sighed and caught up with him, grabbing Niall who screamed dramatically when Louis picked him up. Louis rolled his eyes and set him on his feet again, gripping his forearm to prevent Niall from running off. He put his hand inside Niall’s joggers and slipped a finger in the side of Niall’s nappy which was evidently soaked.

“Niall, you need to be changed before you get a rash, babe, you wouldn’t want owies again, would you?” Louis asked and Niall’s eyes widened and he shook his head. Louis wouldn’t give him owies, would he? He didn’t realise by owies Louis meant a nappy rash, not getting hit. Louis saw the worried look on Niall’s face and frowned.

He took Niall inside and changed his nappy, putting some cream on him when he saw the reddening skin. Niall usually came to them whenever he needed a change, he would sometimes come before he was even finished. Louis didn’t understand why he lied about it. He guessed it was probably because he didn’t want to come inside from playing.

One changed, Niall ran to the glass doors again. He didn’t realise the door was actually closed and ran straight into it, falling back on his bottom. Louis had to stop himself from laughing, but it was the funniest thing he saw today. He wished he was recording that.

“Ow,” Niall rubbed his nose, looking over his shoulder at Louis. Louis expected him to cry; he didn’t. He stood up again and pressed his hand to the glass curiously.

“There’s a door there, Niall,” Louis told him. ”But come on, we’re having dinner, playtime is over,” he took Niall’s hand to lead him to the kitchen but Niall screamed and stomped his feet.

“Oi, if you have a tantrum I’m putting you straight into time out,” Louis said sternly. Niall whined and pressed his face up against the glass of the door, looking out at his ball he so desperately wanted to play with again. He slid down and sat on the floor, staring outside longingly with tears running down his cheeks.

“Dinner!” Liam yelled which made Niall’s body jolt, glancing around.

“Ni. come on, you can play after dinner,” Louis held his hands out to Niall. Niall whined but held his hands out to Louis to be carried. He brought Niall to the kitchen and was about to place him in his highchair when Niall started crying and kicking his legs, not wanting to go in.

“Let him sit out of it today if he wants,” Liam - the pushover - said. Louis nodded and set Niall down on a chair which he immediately moved onto Liam’s lap. Liam smiled softly, wrapping an arm around Niall.

Niall refused to eat and just sat on Liam’s lap playing with Liam’s phone which he allowed Niall to have. After dinner, it was bath time before bed. Niall loved bathtime because he and Liam would always draw pretty pictures on the wall and he got to play with bubbles!

“I think it’s time for bed Niall, you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow,” Liam said as he dried Niall with a towel. He was kind of scared about taking Niall to see a psychologist but he knew it would do them all good to see what’s going on and make sure Niall was okay. At the end of the day, that was all that mattered to Liam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! 
> 
> Please leave your opinions down below so I know you're all still enjoying this story! Also, leave any suggestions you would like me to include in the story, I include as many of them as I can! Love you all, A x.


	10. Chapter 10

Liam glanced down at Niall who was sitting on the floor of the waiting room between his and Louis’ legs playing games on Liam’s phone. When he got bored he dropped Liam’s phone to the floor and crawled off. Louis hurried after him, pulling down his shirt when the top of his nappy was showing coming out of his skinny jeans.

“Get back,” Louis rolled his eyes when he saw Niall about to crawl out of the room. He grabbed the back of his jeans, pulling a giggling Niall back into the room. Louis smiled at the lady at reception who was smiling at Niall. Niall immediately crawled to the door again, peering out it to the lady who then waved at Niall. He giggled and then hid to the left of the door. He peered cautiously around then and squealed when the lady waved again. Louis and Liam watched with a smile, neither of them expected a stranger to be so accepting of Niall.

The woman then held a sweet bowl out to Niall who stuck his fingers in his mouth and smiled shyly. Niall crawled over and the woman handed him two sweets. “Ta,” he giggled before crawling back quickly to Liam and Louis. He then handed one of the sweets to Liam and the other to Louis, smiling at them.

“Aren’t you having one, Ni? Here you have this one,” Louis held it out to him. He shook his head and pushed it back. Louis frowned, Niall loves sweets, he didn’t understand why he was giving them his sweets.

“That’s yours,” he lisped through his fingers. “One for daddy,” he pointed to Liam.”’n one for papa,” he beamed. A smile erupted on Louis’ face, he was a little taken aback he had called him papa but he had to admit, it made him feel pretty special.

Just as he was about to reply to Niall, a lady walked into the room and called Niall’s name. Niall’s head immediately shot up and he glanced at her wearily. She showed him a welcoming smile but he clung onto Liam’s legs. “Come on Ni, this is the lady we told you about,” Liam hoisted Niall onto his feet and then took his hand. Niall walked next to Liam down the hall into the office. Liam took a seat on the couch and Niall sat on his lap, glancing around the room anxiously.

“Hi Niall, my name is Judith, it’s nice to meet you,” She held her hand out to Niall who looked at it before averting his eyes to her, chewing on his fingers. “Are you shy?” She chuckled as she took a seat across from the boys. Louis pulled Niall’s fingers from his mouth, a string of spit following. Niall just stared at the woman in front of them before putting his fingers back in his mouth.

“Here,” Liam pulled his fingers from his mouth again, replacing them with a dummy he had in his pocket.

“Is there anything, in particular, you want me to try help Niall with today?” Judith asked as she pulled out a notebook and pen.

“We just want to make sure he’s mentally okay,” Louis said and the woman nodded, writing down some notes as the boys told her what they were particularly worried about when it came to Niall.

“You two can go wait in the waiting room, or go downstairs and get a coffee together. I’m gonna talk with Niall on his own,” she smiled to Niall who was lying against Liam’s chest, his dummy bobbing between his lips. They both nodded and Liam moved Niall onto the couch.

“Liam and Louis will be back in a little while Niall, you’re gonna stay with me, is that okay?” Judith asked Niall whose expression drastically changed. He shook his head and started to cry, getting up after the boys and following them to the door. “Niall, look over here, do you wanna come play with me?” Judith sat on the floor next to a dollhouse. Niall glanced over at her before shaking his head and clinging onto Liam.

“Hey bud, we have to go, We need to do some big boy stuff that Niall can’t do because Niall is too little. You have to stay here with Judith and play, is that okay?” Liam asked a very solemn looking Niall. He nodded with a pout, a tear rolling down his cheek. “You’re such a great boy,” Liam pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

Niall stood and watched as the boys left the room, then glancing over dubiously at the lady he was left with. She showed him a smile, sitting cross-legged in front of the dollhouse. “Look, Niall, this doll can be you,” she held up a doll with blonde hair. Niall smiled shyly behind his dummy.

“Where’s daddy,” Niall whined, turning around and looking out the window on the door. He didn’t like the fact he was left alone with someone he didn’t know, it made him feel extremely anxious. He clutched his teddy closer to his chest while glancing over at this lady.

“What’s your teddy’s name?” Judith asked, deciding to try distract Niall.

“Teddy,” he lisped behind his dummy, rubbing it’s matted fur against his cheek.

“Ah, good name, it describes him perfectly,” she chuckled while Niall just stared at her, not getting the humour.

“Can I see him?” She asked Niall who shook his head and held his teddy protectively. “Please? Can’t I give him a cuddle?” She asked and Niall shook his head again. “Oh, is it only you who is allowed to give teddy cuddles?” Niall nodded finally. “Can Liam give teddy a cuddle?” Judith questioned with a raised eyebrow. Niall looked in though for a moment before he nodded.

“n’ Lou,” he smiled shyly.

“Aww, you like Louis and Liam then?” She asked.

“No!” Niall squealed, giggling. “Love ‘em!” He said which made Judith smile.

“Who’s your favourite?” She asked with a smile. Niall giggled and shook his head, covering his mouth with his hands where his dummy was still bobbing. “Come on, you can tell me,” she whispered, curling her fingers around her ear.

“No! Love ‘em both!” Niall giggled.

“Isn’t that sweet,” she cooed. “Wanna come over here and play with me now?” She patted the empty space next to her. Niall ran over and knelt down next to her, picking up the doll with the blonde hair which was supposedly him. “Is the Niall doll happy right now?” She asked, watching Niall who was staring at the doll. Niall shook his head. “How’s Niall feeling right now?”

“Scared,” Niall pouted as he sat the Niall doll behind the couch in the dollhouse.

“Why’s he scared?” She pouted.

“He misses daddy n’ papa,” Niall spoke quietly behind his dummy, Judith then asking who daddy and papa are. “Li n’ Lou,” he told her in a tone as though she should know.

“Why’s Niall behind the couch?” She asked, picking up the Niall doll. “Is that where Niall goes when he’s scared?” Niall nodded silently. “Why does Niall go behind the couch?”

“Da can’t get me,” he spoke almost inaudibly, holding his teddy close to his chest again.

“Why would Da get you?” She asked, rapidly writing down notes in her notebook.

“Owies,” Niall muttered, bowing his head, his dummy dropping to his lap.

“Why does he give Niall owies?” She asked.

“Niall naughty,” he spoke quietly before nibbling on the ear of his teddy. She then asked Niall what makes him naughty and he hesitated for a moment. “Cryin’,” he muttered. “Doing bad potty,” he patted his bum and Judith immediately knew what he meant. She nodded and smiled softly. “Bein’ little,” he

“That’s not being naughty, though,” she rubbed his knee which made him flinch. “Sometimes crying is good and you gotta go potty,” she told him and he sniffled softly. “Does da think Niall does anything else naughty?” She asked. He nodded. “What else?” She got her pen ready.

“Don’t know,” Niall started to cry, feeling a little overwhelmed. He didn’t like dwelling on these memories, it made him feel scared because his da could get mad without Niall even knowing why he was mad.

“Okay, it’s okay,” the lady rubbed Niall’s forearm, causing him to flinch. “Hey Ni, what makes Niall happy?” She asked picking up the Niall doll.

“Cuddles,” Niall smiled. “From daddy,” he was suddenly looking more content. “’n playing with papa,” he beamed which made Judith smile.

“What’s your favourite thing to play with papa?”

“Football!” He squealed. “Puzzles, n’ lego n’ lots,” he giggled happily.

“Is Niall happy here with daddy and papa?” The lady asked, putting the Niall doll next to two other boy dolls. Niall nodded his head immediately with no hesitation. “Is there anything they do that makes Niall not happy?”

Niall nodded, “shout,” he told her. “Da shouts lots,” he whimpered, picking up his teddy again.

“Does Liam or Louis shout?” Judith asked Niall who nodded timidly. “Is that scary?” She asked and Niall nodded again, a tear rolling down his cheek. “What do you do when you’re scared?”

“Hide,” Niall said, reaching into the dollhouse and moving the Niall doll behind the couch again. “There,’ he told Judith who nodded.

“But does papa or daddy make Niall feel better?” She asked and he nodded.

“Daddy give cuddles n’ papa go for walk,” he smiled.

“Wow, daddy must give really good cuddles, that’s all you’re talking about,” she said and Niall giggled.

“Yeah! D’best!” He exclaimed with a bright smile. He then looked inside the crib that was in the dollhouse, picking up the baby inside it. “Me,” he showed Judith the baby.

“You’re a baby,” she questioned with a raised eyebrow. Once Niall confirmed it she smiled softly. “Do you like being little Niall?” She asked.

“Yeah! Loadsa cuddles!” He giggled, which made her smile.

“Hey Niall, you know you’re safe here, you can be big Niall now,” she said but Niall immediately shook his head. “Do you like being big Niall?” She asked and Niall shook his head with no hesitation. “Why not?” She asked but he just shrugged. He didn’t really know why but he knew he was happy little, his memory of being big was very vague at this point.

“Scary be big,” he said, putting his teddy in front of his face.

“Why, is big Niall stressed?” She asked and Niall nodded to confirm. She wrote down in her notebook before turning to Niall.

“How does little Niall feel most days with daddy and papa?” She asked.

“Happy,” he smiled.

“Does he ever get sad?” She asked and Niall nodded. “Why would little Niall get sad?” She asked but he didn’t have an answer. Sometimes he just felt sad but he didn’t know why, but daddy or papa always made him feel better! “How does big Niall feel most days?”

“Sad,” Niall replied with a pout to which Judith asked if he was ever happy. “No,” Niall responded quietly which made her a little concerned.

“Does Niall sometimes talk Irish?” She pointing to the Niall doll. Niall nodded. “Why?” Niall just stared at her dumbfounded. “Who speaks Irish with Niall?”

“Ma,” he said.

“Do you miss your da or your mammy?” Judith asked Niall who stated firmly that he didn’t. “Why not?”

“Da give owies and shout n’ ma mean too,” he said, putting his fingers into his mouth.

“Then why do you talk Irish?”

“Only ma know what Niall saying,” he said, protectively holding his teddy to his chest.

“Why do you want to talk to your ma?”

“Cause ma no shout,” he told her and she nodded, beginning to understand. She asked again, if he missed him mother, just to confirm. He told her only when Louis or Liam shout.

“Who do you rather living with? Your da and ma or daddy and papa?” She asked Niall.

“Daddy and Papa!” He giggled, smiling brightly. Judith smiled, knowing he was obviously happy with them right now and considering Niall’s age, his parents couldn’t do anything to legally get Niall back.

“Do Liam and Louis love Niall?” She asked and Niall nodded, smiling happily. “Do mammy and da love Niall?”

“Only big Niall,” Niall pouted and Judith nodded, a sad smile on her features. She’d dealt with people like Niall before but never in such a predicament he’s currently in. Generally, it was everyone else wanting to get away from them, not their parents. She’d never dealt with anyone whose parent’s basically disowned them over this condition. It made her feel a little bad for Niall, considering it’s meant to be your parents who would do anything for you and love you eternally, no matter what.

“Do you want me to go get daddy and papa?” Judith asked as Niall crawled over to the bin of toys, pulling out a mini toy keyboard. Niall nodded and then giggled as he began to hit his hands off the keys, not creating any nice music with it.

Judith stood up and went to the waiting room to get the boys, telling them to follow her back to her office. When she left the room, Niall didn’t notice. Then when he glanced around and noticed Judith had left him on his own he began to cry loudly, crawling to the door. He was about to stand up and look through the window of the door when the door swung open and whacked Niall in the face. It caused him to fall backwards and he hit his head against the wall, his cries going silent as soon as he did.

When his cries went silent this worried the boys and Judith to an extent. Louis rushed inside, feeling extremely guilty before he had even seen Niall because he had no knowledge that Niall was going to be behind the door when he opened it. Much to his relief, Niall hadn’t passed out, he was just looking fearfully to Louis who was standing above him, silent tears running down his cheeks. He knew better than to cry, his da would hit him harder if he cried more. He thought he was in trouble for crying behind the door.

“Niall, oh my God, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that!’ Louis exclaimed, picking him up and cradling him. “Are you okay?” He cooed as he carried Niall over to the couch to sit down. Niall didn’t know what to think, why was he being nice now? Wasn’t he in trouble?

“Sowry,” Niall cried, lifting his head from Louis’ shoulder.

“Why are you so- oh my God he’s bleeding!” Liam exclaimed when he saw blood pouring from Niall’s nose down his face onto the shirt he wore.

“Oh fuck,” Louis cursed as Judith gathered tissues from the box, handing them to Louis. Louis pinched Niall’s nose shut which made him scream in pain because frankly, after his nose getting whacked by a heavy door, it naturally hurt like hell. He held in his cries, his breathing uneven, little whimpers escaping every few seconds.

“Ni, you can cry,” Liam said when he noticed he was attempting to stop himself from crying. Niall shook his head as Louis tried to stop the bleeding from his nose.

“Why not Niall?” Judith asked.

“Bad,” he whined, tears rapidly falling down his cheeks.

“Niall, da isn’t here now. You’re not in trouble,” Judith assured him and he immediately began to sob. He didn’t know if it was because of the pain or because he had been so scared, possibly a mixture of both. Either way, he sobbed loudly as Louis held Niall’s trembling body to his, rubbing his back soothingly while whispering sweet nothings into his ear.

When the bleeding stopped, Louis took Niall’s blood-covered shirt off him, reaching inside the backpack he had with him. He packed spare clothes today, he knew Niall probably needed them and he was right. He took out the spare shirt, slipping it on Niall’s body before handing him a bottle of milk and his teddy that had been abandoned on the floor. Niall crawled onto Liam’s lap, resting his head on his chest. Niall clutched the teddy tight as he drank his milk and Judith then turned to the two boys once he seemed settled.

“Oh, I’ve heard a lot about your legendary cuddles, Liam,” Judith chuckled when she saw him wrap his arms around Niall.

“What about my cuddles Niall, don’t I get credit?” Louis raised an eyebrow at him. Niall didn’t even smile behind his bottle, he was feeling too upset at the minute.

“Oh no, but I heard lots about how you play with him! His favourite is football,” she smiled at Niall who closed his eyes as Liam ran a hand through his hair. Louis smiled fondly over at Niall, feeling quite proud he was obviously doing something right with him. Sometimes he felt he was a little too hard on Niall, which was why he was worried about what else Judith had to say. “Niall had a lot of good things to say about the two of you, he’s very fond of you,” she smiled as did the two boys.

“Aww,’ Liam cooed, rubbing Niall’s knee gently. He opened his eyes and glanced up at Liam, sniffling quietly behind his bottle before closing his eyes again. Judith spoke for a good few minutes about what Niall had said about them and how on he seemed of them.

“You guys are doing such a great thing for Niall and you seem to be doing everything right. He told me he loved the two of you and preferred living with you guys over his mum and dad but,” she said and suddenly Louis’ smile diminished. He knew it couldn’t be all good. “Niall doesn’t like it when you guys yell,” she said.

“We don’t yell, do we?” Louis glanced to Liam who looked just as shocked.

“That’s the only thing he said that makes him sad. He said his da used to yell a lot and it scares him,” she told them and they both were immediately guilt-ridden. “Maybe you don’t shout, maybe you sometimes just talk loudly but Niall’s evidently sensitive when it comes to this,” she said. “Honestly, you probably don’t even know you’re shouting, don’t feel bad, just be more mindful from now on.”

“I’m sorry Niall,” Liam frowned down at him, feeling extremely bad because he knew he had yelled in front of him one day, while Louis just couldn’t look at anyone, feeling terrible he may have possibly scared Niall and brought back bad memories for him.

“I think he’s just scared of raised voices,” she raised her voice at the end and Niall’s eyes shot open and he quickly sat up, turning in Liam’s lap and burying his face in Liam’s neck. His bottle fell to the ground and he whimpered quietly. “See,” she said. “I didn’t even shout, it just scares him.”

“I can see why,” Louis nodded and sighed as he reached down and picked up Niall’s bottle.

“But all he had was praise for you guys, he said he’s happy every day living with you and he doesn’t miss his mum or dad,” she said as Louis handed a hesitant Niall his bottle back. “So whatever you guys are doing, you’re doing right,” she smiled. “Isn’t that right Niall?” She asked and Niall glanced up at her. “Don’t you love living with Liam and Louis?”

“Yeah!” Niall squealed. “Love daddy n’ papa,” he giggled which had both boys smiling brightly.

“Do you think he’ll be in his headspace much longer?” Louis asked then. He didn’t particularly want Niall to come out of it, he loved looking after little Niall, but he knew Niall couldn’t stay in it forever.

“It’s hard to say. He told me he doesn’t like being big Niall because big Niall is unhappy, he’s happy for the moment as little Niall but littlies can be confusing. He won’t stay in it forever but I’d say with what he’s been through, he’s going to be in this headspace for a while. It destresses him, so be ready for another while of this,” she said and they both smiled again. “Generally when littlies feel safe, they will come out of their headspace for me but Niall wouldn’t. So if he won’t come out of it even for me, I don’t think he’ll be out of it any time soon.”

"I like looking after him. I like having little Niall,” Liam held him close to his chest. Niall smiled and buried his face in Liam’s chest.

Judith finished up telling them about what Niall had said and then spoke to the boys about keeping up counselling every so often just to make sure Niall was still in an positive mindset. While they chatted about how that would make them feel more content too, Niall wriggled in Liam’s arms, getting a little bored. He threw his bottle on the floor and giggled as it rolled away, finding amusement in that. “Oi, go pick that up,” Louis nudged Niall who giggled loudly as he slid off Liam’s lap.

He came back and got onto Louis’ lap this time, kicking Liam’s leg just because he needed to amuse himself. When Liam ignored him he soon got bored and had to find something else to do. A giggling Niall then held his bottle upside down, watching how the milk dripped out of the nipple every few seconds onto his lap. “Would you stop that,” Louis grabbed it off him which had Niall squealing. Judith smiled fondly at the two as Niall reached back and grabbed Louis’ hair.

“Ouch,” Louis pretended to cry, grabbing his hair. “Ow, Ni, that hurt,” he fake cried into his hands then. Niall glanced to Liam and Judith with a worried expression covering his features.

“Sowry Lou, love you,” Niall tried to hug Louis, looking rather stressed when Louis continued to cry. Niall got up and retrieved his pacifier and teddy, running back to Louis. “Here papa,” he said, handing Louis both the items. Judith smiled when he saw Niall do this. Louis stopped crying then and cuddled Niall’s teddy which made Niall smile. Niall knew that would make Louis feel better! His teddy always makes him feel better.

“Thank you, Niall,” Louis pulled Niall onto his lap, kissing the top of his head. Niall reached up and kissing Louis’ cheek, mumbling quietly “love you”, which had been Liam and Judith cooing.

“That is so sweet!” Liam said as Niall rest his head on Louis’ chest. Niall sat quietly then, drinking from his bottle with one hand, his other hand inside his trousers. Louis soon found Niall had his hand in his nappy - he didn’t care - but he did look to Liam who he knew would care. Liam glanced to Louis, he gestured with his eyes down to Niall, Liam’s following and widening when he saw what Niall was doing. He quickly pulled Niall’s hand out of his trousers which made Louis giggled. God, Liam is too predicable, he thought to himself.

Niall whined quietly, rubbing his eyes. “Do you need a change?” Louis whispered to Niall, pressing his lips to Niall’s ear. Niall shook his head, even though his nappy was weighing between his legs. He had used it more than once and even though he was in dire need of a change, he didn’t want to be changed. As he thought about it, he didn’t quite know how many times he’d used it… he just knew it was more than once.

“So yeah, I think that’s it for the day,” Judith said, looking to Niall who now had his finger up his nose.

“Oh my god, can you stop putting your fingers in places they’re not meant to be,” Liam scolded Niall who started giggling again. He found it funny when Liam got flustered.

Judith chuckled before saying her goodbyes to the boys. They all cooed then when Niall ran to her, wrapping his arms around her quickly before running back to Liam and taking his hand. He smiled shyly at her before following Liam out the door.

“Ta-ta!” He waved to Judith as he waddled out the door, holding hands with Liam. On the way home, Liam had to stop to get Niall some more nappies. The dreaded task. “Li! Sweets!” Niall bounced on his feet, pointing to the sweet aisle as they passed it.

“Okay Niall, go pick sweets but they’re for after dinner, okay?” Liam said, taking an authoritative voice as he followed Niall to the sweet aisle. Niall picked out a mixed bag of sweets and handed them to Liam. Although, as soon as they were in the car, Niall was trying to open the packet of sweets, despite their agreement.

“Li, open,” Niall held the packet out to Liam who was sitting in the passenger seat of the car.

“Niall, Liam said they’re for after dinner,” Louis looked at Niall through the rear-view mirror, raising an eyebrow at him.

“No,” Niall whined, kicking his feet. Louis knew he was more than likely about to throw a temper-tantrum. At the though, Louis’ gripped the steering wheel firmer, inhaling deeply as he prepared himself for a ride home with more unconventional music in the car - Niall’s glorious screams and cries.

“Niall, we’re having dinner as soon as we go home, if you eat those sweets now, you won’t have any room for dinner,” Louis said as he quickened his speed in an effort to get home quicker before the screaming began.

“Wan’ ‘em now!” Niall yelled, tears beginning to form in his eyes. “Open, daddy, please,” he held the bag out to Liam and showed nothing less than a guilt-tripping face. At the utter of the word ‘daddy’, Liam was induced. He took the bag from Niall and opened them.

“You can have one,” Liam handed him a sweet. Niall grinned as he took it, looking to Louis in the rear-view mirror. He stuck his tongue out at him when he saw his eyes averting the mirror. Louis shook his head although he couldn’t help but smile softly to himself. Niall was a devious little shit, but oddly enough, Louis loved it.

Liam carried Niall inside when they arrived home. it dawned on him Niall felt even lighter now to carry, as though it wasn’t already bad enough before. He sighed as he set Niall on his feet, knowing it shouldn’t be that easy for him to pick up a grown man. Well, I guess you could argue Niall was only a half-grown man considering his height.

“Daddy,” Niall smiled at Liam, eyeing the bag of sweets he had in his hand as he swayed from side to side with his hands behind his back. Liam raised an eyebrow at him but gave Niall a few gummy sweets.

“Shhh, don’t tell papa,” he whispered before leaving Niall’s sweets on top of the fridge. Niall giggled and ran to the living room, sitting down with his gummy bears. Instead of eating them, he started to play with them on the coffee table. This game didn’t last long because within ten minutes, some were missing heads and others were missing bodies.

Louis came in as Niall popped the last gummy into his mouth. Niall’s joggers were off and his nappy was sagging low on his bottom and it was full of wee because the poor boy hadn’t been changed since this morning.

“Hey Ni, lets change your nappy quick,” Louis said, sitting down on the ground with a new nappy in hand. Niall shook his head and stood up, running to the door, his nappy slipping down his bum even more. “Come on, you don’t want to get a rash babe,” Louis reminded him, patting the floor between his legs. Niall screamed and ran off down the hall. He stood at the bottom of the hall, watching the living room door. He was waiting on Louis to come and try to catch him. He didn’t.

“Niall, you can come and get changed when you’re ready,” Louis said from the living room, not budging from the floor. He was in no mood to run after Niall. Niall ran around for a few minutes but soon got bored and walked back to the living room. “Are you ready to get changed now?” Louis raised an eyebrow at Niall.

“Yeah,” Niall lay down on the mat and just as Louis was about to open his nappy, Niall shot up like a spring. “Only kidding,” he giggled and ran off down the hall again. “Come get me papa!” He yelled which made Louis chuckle quietly to himself. For some reason, Niall calling him papa just hit a soft spot for him.

He stood up and ran down the hall, yelling how he was going to get Niall as he ran after him. Niall giggled and squealed loudly, kicking his legs when Louis caught him and picked him up. “Got you now!” Louis said, throwing him over his shoulder which had Niall screaming.

“Papa no!” He giggled as Louis carried him to the living room. Louis couldn’t help but smile widely as he listened to the contagious giggles thundering next to his ear. He couldn’t help but giggle himself.

He set an out of breath Niall down on the changing mat, his breathing heavy and laboured as he smiled up at Louis. Louis changed him and winced when he saw Niall’s skin. Niall seemed unfazed though and allowed Louis to spread cream all over his reddened privates. He felt bad for not changing him earlier but Niall generally told them when he needed changing, and he had asked him. He was perplexed as to why Niall didn’t inform them he needed a change.

 ~~After dinner, a euphoric Niall was munching on sweets.~~ For dinner, a euphoric Niall was munching on sweets. He had refused to eat his dinner, and Liam being the pushover he was, allowed Niall to have his sweets anyway, partially because he felt guilty he was going to be leaving him tomorrow.

“Do you think he will be okay tomorrow in Harry’s?” Liam asked Louis, taking a seat next to him and gently pressing his lips to Louis’. Louis nodded with a smile before grabbing the hair on the nape of Liam’s neck, pulling his lips to his again. Liam smiled against his lips as the two kissed for a few minutes.

“He loves Harry. And I can’t wait for our first date, and our first night alone,” Louis squeezed Liam’s hand. Liam blushed and nodded, humming in agreement.

“It will be fun,” Liam agreed, patting Louis’ thigh gently. Louis smiled softly, glancing down at Niall whose eyes were focused on the telly.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Louis said, even though he did feel nervous leaving Niall too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Hope you're well! It's definite that I will update this every Saturday and if I have a chapter finished between then during the week, I will update then too! But Saturday you can watch out for the update :)) 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm very excited for the next one and Zayn might just be making an appearance, who knows haha !! Tell me what you guys think of the story down below and as always leave any suggestions! 
> 
> I love you all so much and thank you for taking the time to read! Have a wonderful day, lots of love A Xx.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra long update so get a snack and enjoy!! ;)

Saturday arrived, the day Niall was staying at Harry’s. As Liam was packing Niall a bag, he couldn’t but feel hesitant. He wanted to have this date with Louis but at the same time, he felt bad leaving Niall. Although, the more he thought about a day on his own with Louis, the more it incited him. Niall would be okay for one night, right?

Niall glanced up at him as he put spare clothes into the bag for him. “We go out?” Niall asked timidly,pulling his bottom lip into his mouth. He sat up on his knees, leaning on the bed as he watched Liam.

“You’re going out Ni,” Liam said and a bright smile was produced on Niall’s face. He pulled himself up on the bed next to his bag, still smiling. “You’re going to Harry’s house,” he told him, gauging Niall’s reaction; a smile. “And guess what? You’re gonna have a sleepover there! Isn’t that exciting?” Liam asked Niall who’s smile suddenly vanished, instead showing Liam a puzzled glance. Niall shook his head quickly and sunk his top teeth into his lower lip.

“Why?” He questioned, looking a little melancholic.

“Because,” Liam pulled Niall to sit between his legs. He rest his head on top of Niall’s hair. It dawned on him then Niall needed a haircut, his hair was getting long. “Me and Louis are going out like adults and little people like you can’t come. Then when we come home we aren’t going to bed, we’re doing big people things so you can’t be at home,” Liam said, playing with Niall’s fingers as he spoke.

“Why?”

“Because you’re too little Niall, you can’t do what we are doing so instead you’re gonna stay with Harry and play lots and have a movie night and stay up late and eat sweets, how does that sound?” Liam asked. Niall just watched Liam’s fingers playing with his. It didn’t sound fun because his daddy and papa weren’t going to be there. He didn’t like when they weren’t there.

“No, wanna stay with daddy n’ papa,” Niall whined, clutching Liam’s hands in his, a tear running down his cheek. Liam felt the guilt resonate throughout his body.

“Ni, Harry wants to have you over to play with him though, you don’t wanna make Harry sad and not go, do you?” Liam gently asked. Niall bowed his head before shaking it, tears falling onto his thighs. “You’ll have lots of fun, I promise and if you’re scared or miss us too much, we can come and get you, okay?” Liam asked and Niall nodded, feeling a little more assured now.

“Okay,” Niall timidly responded, sliding off the bed and standing up.

“Right, go pick some toys to take to play with Harry,” Liam patted Niall’s padded bum which had him giggling as he ran out of the room. Liam smiled as he watched him and some minutes later Niall came running back into the room with his arms filled with toys. a few slipped out of his arms as he walked the bed but once he had dropped what was in his arms onto the bed, he ran back to retrieve them.

Harry arrived as Liam was putting the toys into the bag. “Hi Niall!” He beamed. Niall smiled shyly and climbed on the bed, sitting next to Liam. Niall loved Harry, but he felt very anxious about leaving his daddy and papa. Liam wrapped an arm around Niall who buried his face in Liam’s side.

“I was telling Niall how you’re gonna play and watch movies and have loads of fun, isn’t that right Niall?” He nudged Niall who whined.

“Yeah Ni, I promise it’ll be lots of fun,” Harry assured him, coming over and ruffling Niall’s hair gently.

“And if you’re good for Harry, Louis and I might have a present for you,” Liam smiled and Niall’s face lit up.

“What?” He asked excitedly.

“I can’t tell you, you’ll find out if you’re good,” Liam smiled as Harry picked up Niall’s bags. Niall whined but followed Liam and Harry to the hallway where Louis was waiting. The three chatted for a few minutes while Niall stood solemnly, feeling apprehensive about leaving.

“Can I have a hug before you go?” Liam held out his arms to Niall who ran and immediately accepted the embrace. He inhaled Liam’s scent, finding it rather comforting. “Do I get a kiss?” Liam asked once Niall had pulled back. Niall leaned up on his tippy toes and briefly pressed his lips to Liam’s for a millisecond. Liam was rather taken aback, he thought Niall would kiss him on the cheek. He knew Niall didn’t mean it as a proper kiss, it resembled more of a kid kissing their parents goodbye. At that thought, he found it rather endearing.

“Where’s my hug and kiss?” Louis pouted, feigning a melancholic expression. Niall ran to him, hugging him before leaning up and giving Louis a kiss as well. Louis smiled when Niall pulled back, finding it adorable how he treated them like parents, but he guessed that’s kind of what they were to Niall.

“Okay, come on mister, we have a busy day ahead of us,” Harry held out his hand to Niall. Niall hesitantly took it, watching over his shoulder at the boys with furrowed eyebrows as he walked to the door. He didn’t want to go. In the car, he pressed his face to the window, watching the boys who were waving at the door. As soon as the boys were out of sight, Niall started to cry.

Harry watched him in the rear-view mirror, not really knowing what to do. When he arrived at his house, he brought a sobbing Niall inside. Niall was glancing around at everything anxiously, whimpering for daddy or papa every few minutes.

“Hey Ni, don’t cry. You’ll see daddy and papa in the morning,” Harry brought Niall into his arms. He tried to distract Niall by getting out all his toys but Niall still continued to cry.

Harry picked Niall up then, placing a hand on Niall’s bottom and one around him, rocking him gently in his arms in an effort to mollify his anxieties. He whispered sweet nothings into Niall’s ear, walking around the living room as he gently bounced him in his arms. After a few minutes of this, Niall’s cries subdued and he sniffled quietly into Harry’s shoulder.

“See, you’re okay Ni,” Harry smiled once he had Niall calm. Niall lifted his head once he stopped crying, looking to Harry with red-rimmed eyes. “How about I get you a nice warm bottle of milk and we cuddle and watch telly?” Harry asked. Niall nodded timidly, liking the sound of that.

Harry put Niall down to go fetch him a bottle but Niall ran after him, yelling “up!” He wanted to be carried and didn’t want Harry to leave him on his own. So with Niall on one hip, he someone managed to make a bottle one handedly. He was quite proud of himself, to say the least.

They had been sitting no longer than ten minutes watching telly when Niall took off his jeans and his shirt, assumably getting comfortable around Harry. Harry had to admit, Niall looked rather adorable just sitting in a nappy, his hair in all directions as he watched Peppa Pig on the telly.

“Play!’ Niall exclaimed, getting down on the floor where his toys were scattered. Harry smiled and sat on the floor next to Niall, playing with him for the next forty minutes. Niall had been having so much fun with Harry, he actually forgot about how much he missed his daddy and papa.

They only stopped playing because Zayn arrived and Niall was suddenly anxious again, clinging onto Harry. He didn’t recognise Zayn, especially not in his headspace. It had been months and months since they’d seen one another.

Zayn wasn’t shocked when he walked in and saw Niall in just a nappy, Harry had told him about everything. He had known about Niall’s condition so the sight didn’t baffle him. “Hi Niall,” he smiled softly as Niall watched him with fear-filled eyes.

“Niall, this is Zayn, don’t you remember him?” Harry asked, pulling Niall onto his lap. Niall shook his head and turned in Harry’s arms. Harry felt Niall’s nappy against his thigh, knowing he’d wet himself. “You’re wet bud, I need to change you,” Harry stood up, shifting Niall off his lap to go get what he needed to change Niall.

Niall immediately began to sob when Harry left him sitting on the floor. He held his hands out to Harry as he watched him walk away, sobbing loudly. Zayn cooed and picked up Niall, thinking this was Niall asking for him to pick him up. “Hey Ni, don’t cry,” he cooed, placing Niall on his hip. He was more than surprised at Niall’s weight, he found it was far too easy for him to pick up Niall, a grown man.

Niall’s eyes widened when this strange man picked him up. He didn’t remember Zayn and now being left alone with him after just ‘meeting’ him made me more than anxious. He looked to Zayn with bulging eyes before whimpering for his daddy and papa. “Hey, shh, don’t panic it’s okay,” Zayn rubbed his back gently.

Niall felt heavy pressure on his chest as though someone was pushing down on it, forbidding him from taking a breath. It was all too much, being away from his daddy and papa was bad enough but now being left with somebody he didn’t know with foreign hands holding him.

His breathing suddenly became laboured and before Zayn knew it, Niall was struggling to breathe, hyperventilating in his arms. Niall couldn’t focus on anything and didn’t even hear Zayn yelling on Harry.

Harry came running in and immediately took Niall from Zayn’s arms. He cradled Niall in his arms, not really knowing what to do. He’d never been with anyone experiencing a panic attack before in his life. Niall hadn’t experienced too many either so it frightened him as well when he couldn’t breathe. Although, it was scaring him just as much as he was scaring Harry.

Harry held him, rubbing his back and rocking him gently until Niall’s breathing returned to a normal pace. He clutched Harry’s shirt tightly in his fist as he rested his head on his chest. “You’re such a great boy,” Harry pressed his lips to the top of Niall’s head.

“Daddy,” Niall cried into Harry’s chest. “Papa,” he gasped, still a little out of breath. He just wished he could even smell one of them right now. “Where daddy n’ papa?” He cried as Zayn watched Harry looking rather bemused. He didn’t understand who Niall was crying for.

“They’re doing the big adult things we told you about,” Harry said as he lay Niall down on the changing mat Zayn had unrolled for him. Niall shook his head and began to sob again, sitting up and looking around the room.

“Wan’ ‘em,” he cried as Harry gently pushed him to lay down again.

“Let me change your nappy, love, we-“

“No!” Niall screamed and sat up again, sobbing loudly. All he wanted right now was his daddy and papa. He was scared in these foreign surrounds and after his panic attack, all he wanted was cuddles from either daddy or papa.

Harry then remembered what Louis had packed for Niall. He told Zayn to get Niall’s bag and pulled out Liam’s sweater Louis snuck in. He set it next to Niall on the changing mat, hoping it would calm him. A few minutes later Niall’s cries turned to soft sniffles and he was holding the sweater close to his chest, burying his face in it. Harry smiled softly, feeling as though he had accomplished something.

“Daddy,” Niall smiled as he rubbed the soft cotton of the sweater against his cheek. Even just getting Liam’s scent calmed Niall. Harry took this as his cue to change Niall’s nappy. He felt anxious at the thought of changing his best mates nappy, getting that up close and personal with his bits.

Harry hesitantly undid the tabs on Niall’s nappy. He watched Niall’s reaction but his eyes were closed as he basically suffocated himself with Liam’s sweater. Harry tried to avoid eye contact with Niall’s willy although that was merely impossible.

“You have to put the cream on him,” Zayn said to Harry whose eyes widened significantly.

“The what?”

“Look, he has a slight rash, you need to put this on him,” he picked up the rash cream and handed it to Harry.

“All over his-“

“Yes,” Zayn confirmed before Harry had even finished his sentence. Harry nodded slowly and scooped up some of the cream on his fingers. Zayn’s eyes widened in anticipation as he waited for Harry to actually put it on Niall. Niall jumped when Harry touched his willy with the cold cream; Harry jumped too. Zayn laughed at Harry’s reaction. When Niall relaxed again, Harry continued spreading the cream over his skin before quickly taping Niall’s nappy.

“Well done,” Zayn chuckled as Niall sat up. “Now, are we going?” He questioned. The two had planned to take Niall to the cinema. Harry was going to just watch a movie with him, but Zayn said it would be nice to actually take him out, so that’s what the pair had agreed to do.

“Do you wanna go to the cinema Niall?” Harry asked Niall. His face immediately lit up and he nodded, standing up. Harry smiled and got Niall’s clothes, dressing him again before packing a small backpack with a few nappies, a bottle and any other supplies they may need.

Niall ran out the door ahead of them and yelled at them to hurry up. The two couldn’t help but smile at how cute he looked as he gestured for them to hurry, bouncing on his feet.

  
…

Liam smiled at Louis who was sitting across from him at their table. It was so nice to be out on their own without Niall in a place that sold more than chicken nuggets. He reached across the table and took Louis’ hand in his.

“I hope Niall is doing okay,” Louis said as he picked up his glass of wine and took a sip.

“If he wasn’t, I’m sure we would have heard,” Liam said, taking a sip of his own. Louis nodded in agreement just as their dessert came. “Can I try some of that?” Liam smiled. Louis nodded and held a forkful over to Liam, purposely hitting his cheek with it before scooping it into his mouth. Liam giggled as he chewed on it. “Mmm,” he groaned which made Louis’ eyes widen and his crotch tingle.

“Okay, that’s enough wine for you,” Louis said, taking Liam’s wine teasingly which made him whine. Louis reached over the table with his napkin and gently wiped Liam’s cheek, caressing it gently once he had.

Liam smiled lovingly at Louis before turning his face and gently kissing the palm of Louis’ hand. They both finished their desserts before taking one another’s hand and making their way to the taxi waiting for them.

They giggled when they arrived home, going to the kitchen together and getting two bottles of beer. “Hey Lou,” Liam smiled, pulling him into his arms. He wrapped his arms around Louis’ waist, resting his chin on top of his head.

“What?” Louis smiled up at him. They were both acting as though they were drunk even though they weren’t even tipsy. They were so giddy. I guess you could say drunk in love, maybe?

“I have an important question to ask and we actually have to be serious,” he said but both boys giggled loudly after he said that. “No, seriously,” he pulled a straight face but only for a few seconds and the two were laughing loudly together.

“What is it?” Louis smiled, leaning up and gently pressing his lips to Liam’s.

“Do you maybe wanna be my boyfriend?”

…

“Do you want popcorn, Niall?” Harry asked him as they stood in the queue.

“Yeah, n’ those, n’ those, n’ those..” He began pointing to all the sweets at the counter. He basically pointed out them all, indicating to Harry he wanted a shitload of sweets.

“You can have one bag of sweets, choose now,” Harry said, raising an eyebrow at Niall who pouted but pointed to the bag of skittles. Harry got him popcorn and skittles as well as some popcorn for him and Zayn.

Niall sat on the edge of the cinema seat, in awe at the screen in front of him. The movie wasn’t even playing yet. When it began Niall looked to both Harry and then Zayn in astonishment. He couldn’t believe how big this telly was!

Although, his fascination with the screen didn’t last long and he was soon fidgeting and whining, chatting throughout the whole movie. Basically, it wasn’t a Peppa Pig movie so Niall had no interest. He was bored.

Twenty minutes into the movie, he wouldn’t even sit on his seat and was trying to move onto Harry’s lap. Harry pushed him off and so Niall screamed and kicked his legs. He kicked his popcorn which was on the ground then, causing it to fall over. Niall looked down and immediately started to cry loudly when he realised this.

Harry and Zayn looked at one another with wide eyes before quickly dragging Niall out of the room. He sobbed the whole way out to the front door, whilst they were ignoring the looks they got from people on the way.

“Niall, stop crying,” Harry picked him up once they were outside. “Do you wanna go to McDonald’s and get a happy meal?” Harry asked and Niall’s tears miraculously stopped.

“Note to self, never take Niall to the cinema,” Harry said as they drove off. Zayn nodded in agreement while Niall sat in the back of the car singing along to himself as he stared out the window. The boys couldn’t help but smile at how cute he sounded, lisping each word or muttering a word he didn’t know. They could have listened to it all day.

When they arrived at McDonald’s Niall excitedly ran inside, waiting for the boys at the door. Zayn took his hand and led him to a seat while Harry ordered. When he arrived with the food Niall climbed on Harry’s lap. He made grabby hands for the toy in his happy meal but Harry handed it to Zayn first. He whined and slumped on Harry’s lap.

“You can have it when you finish your food,” Harry told him, wrapping an arm around him as he began to eat his own food. Niall whined, eyeing the toy in Zayn’s hand as he began to eat.

He ate the whole meal a lot quicker than Harry thought he would but once he was finished, he burped and held his hand out for the toy. Zayn handed him it and Niall smiled brightly as he began to play with it on the table.

“Hey, what do you say when you burp?” Harry nudged Niall.

“’scuse me!” Niall smiled brightly which made the two boys smile. Niall lay back against Harry’s chest then as he waited for the boys to finish eating. He soon had a hand in his nappy where he knew it shouldn’t be. He was waiting on his daddy to give out to him when he realised he wasn’t here to give out. He got a little upset then, remembering how much he missed his daddy and papa.

Before he got any more time to dwell on it, Harry was moving Niall to his feet, getting ready to leave. “Do you need a nappy change before we go?” Harry asked and Niall shook his head even though he did need a change.

Harry got Niall into the car before getting into the front with Zayn. The drive home was a little tedious and long so Harry decided to play ‘I spy’ with Niall.

“I spy w’ my ickle eyes something wed,” Niall lisped behind his dummy.

“Red?” Harry asked and Niall nodded, Harry frowned, he couldn’t see anything red so he started naming random things and Niall kept shaking his head. “My tongue?” Harry stuck it out as a last resort. Niall squealed and giggled loudly, shaking his head.

“No!” He giggled.

“What then?” Harry asked, totally confused.

“There,” Niall pointed to Harry’s chin where there was a spot. Zayn looked over at him from the driver seat and started giggling.

“Aw gee, thanks Niall for pointing that out,” Harry rolled his eyes as Niall giggled loudly in the back, finding this so amusing.

“I spy w’ my ickle eye something g’een,” Niall said then and Harry had to coo at how he pronounced ‘green’. Harry then pointed out everything he saw green but Niall shook his head to everything. _Jesus, Niall is too good at this game,_ he thought to himself.

“What is it then?” Harry asked. Niall pointed to Zayn’s hair and giggled.

“Niall, that’s not green that’s black, you’re cheating,” Harry pouted as Niall laughed loudly.

“It’s g’een!” He exclaimed through his dummy while Harry pouted.

“It’s black,” Harry said as Zayn was almost wetting himself from laughing. Niall was great amusement. After Niall decided he was going to be creating his own colours, the game ended. Niall went quiet in the back, his breathing getting heavy as a concentrated look came over his features. He wriggled in his seat as a muffled fart came from between his legs but neither of the boys heard.

“Need potty,” Niall mumbled quietly to himself, suddenly getting a little worried. He didn’t want to go, not when his daddy or papa wasn’t here. He was scared to go, especially in the car where he knew they wouldn’t be long figuring it out.

“What did you say, Ni?” Harry asked, turning his head to face Niall.

“Hafta go potty,” Niall grumbled again, putting his hands between his legs.

“That’s okay Ni, go wee and I’ll change you when we get home. We’ll be about half an hour,” he told Niall whose face was turning red from holding it in. He grunted quietly before lifting his bottom off the seat and allowing himself to push it into his nappy. He sank down on the seat again and scrunched his face when he felt it mush against his bum. He didn’t like messing himself anywhere he couldn’t squat.

He whined quietly, looking to Zayn in the rear-view mirror as he filled his nappy more. He was scared someone was going to yell at him any minute. As he finished filling his nappy, he started to pee, crying as he did this.

“Hey Ni, don’t cry, I’ll change you as soon as we get home, okay?” Harry smiled assuringly at Niall. Niall wriggled in his seat and cried louder because it felt horrible. All he wanted now was his daddy to change him. He’s the only person who’s allowed to change Niall’s messy nappies. Niall won’t even let papa touch them.

“Harry, I think he did more than a wee,” Zayn covered his nose and suddenly Harry’s heart dropped.

“W-what do you mean?” Harry stammered.

“Unless he has strong farts, he’s most definitely done a poo,” Zayn said. Niall put his dummy in his mouth, sucking on it quietly as Harry turned to face Niall. Niall looked to Harry with big bright, watering eyes and rosy, tearstained cheeks.

Harry turned again and just hoped it was the strong farts, although the faint smell stayed in the car. When the arrived home, Harry carried Niall inside, groaning quietly when it was evident Niall had indeed done a poo. He knew that smell was not a fart.

“Okay, come on, let’s get you changed,” Harry sighed, setting Niall down on his feet

“No!” Niall screamed and ran off behind the couch. Harry sighed deeply as he went to set out the changing mat.

“Niall, come on, once you’re changed we can get into our jammies and have cuddles,” Harry called from the bathroom. Niall just sat crying behind the couch, all he wanted right now was his daddy.

“No, daddy,” he cried as Harry came into the living room, looking behind the couch to Niall. “Wan’ daddy,” he cried, looking up at Harry through his eyelashes, with tears running down his cheeks.

“Ni, come on, we need to change you, you don’t wanna sit in that yucky nappy, do you?” Harry asked as Zayn came into the room.

“No, need daddy,” Niall cried into his knees. Harry looked back at Zayn for help. He shrugged, not really knowing what to do. “Only daddy change me,” he cried. Harry moved the couch to reach Niall who immediately began to scream. He stood up and ran out of the room.

Harry went to the hallway after Niall, watching him as he hid inside the closet. Harry groaned quietly, rubbing his forehead. “I have an idea,” Zayn spoke from behind Harry.

“What?” Harry asked as Zayn smiled.

…

Liam had Louis pressed against the wall as he sucked a mark on his neck. He groaned loudly, throwing his head back against the wall as Liam’s crotch pressed to his thigh. For the first time, Liam was actually the _‘excited’_ one.

Louis reached down and gripped Liam through his jeans, earning a groan from him. “Fuck,” he cursed against Louis’ neck. “Do that again, please,” he gasped. Louis complied, quite happy to.

Just as they were about to move it to the bedroom, Liam’s phone began to ring. “Ignore it,” Louis grabbed Liam’s collar, not wanting to interrupt their ’time’ together.

“It might be about Niall,” he leaned over and grabbed his phone. Louis groaned but nodded, watching Liam as he picked up his phone. He soon found it was a FaceTime call from Harry so he quickly answered.

“Hey guys, I…” He trailed off then when he saw Louis leaning against the wall with his marked nect in view, Liam appearing to be standing between his legs. “Sorry, did we interrupt?” He asked, eyeing Liam’s half unbuttoned shirt.

“Yeah, but it’s fine. What’s up?” Liam asked.

“Niall. He’s crying for you Liam, he messed his nappy and he says only daddy can change him,” Harry cringed at the use of the word daddy but Liam’s face held a soft smile. He suddenly felt so bad for Niall, knowing how scared he was right now.

“Oh shit yeah, he hasn’t been changed by anyone but me when he’s dirty. He hates anyone changing him,” he smiled softly when he finished the sentence, though. He didn’t think he had been making Niall comfortable during changes, but now hearing Niall only wanted him to change him made him feel… great.

“Zayn said just FaceTime you while we change him and he should be okay,” Harry said, making his way to the bathroom where Zayn was cradling a sobbing Niall on his lap.

“Hey Niall!” Liam smiled, sitting down on the couch. Niall’s head shot up when he heard Liam’s voice and he peered around the room.

“Daddy?” He asked. Liam smiled brightly at the fact Niall knew his voice immediately.

“He’s here Niall,” Harry showed Niall the phone while Zayn handed Niall Liam’s sweater. Niall held it to his face again and smiled brightly at Liam. In a matter of minutes, he was completely calm again because not only could he smell Liam, but he could see and hear him as well.

Zayn lay him on the mat while Liam chatted to a smiling Niall. They both then kneeled down and started to change him, Harry cleaning him while Zayn held the phone and handed him wipes, cream and anything else he needed.

“You’ve been a good boy so far Niall, haven’t you?” Liam asked and Niall nodded with a bright smile. “Guess you’ll be getting your surprise when you come home," he said and Niall squealed. Liam then noticed Niall was clutching his sweater and cooed quietly. It made him feel so warm inside, that Niall held so much love for them now. He really trusted them and looked upon them as parent figures.

“Papa!” He squealed when Louis came into view. “Love you!” He giggled when he saw Louis. _This was great! Not only did he see daddy but also papa_! Niall wasn’t even paying attention to the two boys cleaning him.

“Aw, I love you too bud, I can’t wait to see you in the morning and your surprise is waiting,” Louis smiled and Niall squealed. Harry taped a new nappy on Niall so Niall sat up, grinning goofily into the camera.

“Okay, well Niall, we have to go again but you’ll be good for us, won’t you? And we will see you when you wake up,” Liam said and Niall nodded.

“Yes daddy,” he giggled. “Love you!” He smiled and Liam told Niall he loved him too. They all waved goodbye and then Louis and Liam were on their own again.

“Now we know he’s fine, we can finish what we started,” Liam giggled, pulling Louis on top of him on the couch.

“Indeed we can,” Louis leaned down and began heavily making out with Liam. “Bedroom,” he stood up, giggling as he held a hand out to Liam. Liam took it and allowed Louis to drag him down, dropping down on the bed and pulling him on top of him.

“Have you ever done it with a man before?” Liam asked tentatively. Louis blushed a little but nodded, informing him only once. “Okay, well you can lead the way then because I haven’t ever done this,” Liam blushed as he admitted it.

“Really?” Louis looked rather astonished.

“You’re my first boyfriend, so yeah,” he blushed. His sexually had always been a sensitive topic. He always knew he didn’t feel right in a relationship with a girl, but he still did it time and time again. It wasn’t until he started to spend time with Louis that he realised how he wasted his time with those girls. When he kissed girls, he never got that tingly feeling he gets when he kisses Louis. He alway knew it in the back of his mind, but he never wanted to admit it. Now, over the last few weeks, it had become apparent to him. He’s fucking gay and he knows it.

“Fuck, I love you,” Louis whispered, which shocked both him and Liam. “I- I you don’t have to respond to that,” he stammered, his cheeks flushing.

“No,” Liam caressed his cheek gently, looking into his eyes. “I love you too,” he smiled before pressing their lips together again.

…

After his change and his FaceTime call with Liam and Louis, Niall was giddy and wouldn’t stop smiling. “You’re a happy boy now,” Harry smiled as he rolled up Niall’s changing mat after having given it a good wipe down.

Niall giggled, smiling brightly. “Hey, how about we take Niall to the park now? There won’t be any kids there now so he could play,” Zayn suggested.

“That’s a good idea, actually,” Harry nodded in agreement.

“Wanna go to the park?” Zayn asked and Niall’s eyes lit up. “Yeah? Come on, let’s get some trousers and shoes on you then,” Zayn held a hand out to Niall. Niall hesitantly took it and followed Zayn. Zayn helped Niall into a cookie monster onesie. It was a blue onesie with cookies all over it. He put on his runners and his coat.

Harry started to laugh when he saw Niall, his puffy coat up to his cheeks and his pyjama's. He cooed when he saw the hood of his onesie with the cookie monsters eyes. “Zayn, couldn’t you have put jeans on him?” Harry asked.

“Nobody is gonna see him and he looks twenty times cuter in pyjama’s,” Zayn chuckled. Harry couldn’t disagree. Niall ran over to him with a bright smile on his face.

“You look adorable,” Harry cooed, pinching Niall’s cheek. Niall giggled again before reaching for Harry’s hand, pulling him to the door. Niall skipped next to Harry the whole way there. It wasn’t a long walk but still. When they arrived, they were relieved to find the park, indeed empty. Harry let go of Niall’s hand and allowed him to run int the play area.

He ran to the smaller children’s section, climbing up the ladder to the slide. He slid down it and giggled loudly as his bottom hit the ground. Niall giggled as he stood up and ran to Zayn who was gesturing for him to come follow him. He led Niall up the ladder to the wooden platform. Niall ran across the rope bridge with no fear, leaving poor Zayn behind who was a little hesitant. Niall held no fear as he even crawled across the netting to the slide, sliding down it with a squeal to where Harry was waiting.

“Hi,” he giggled as he stood up then and ran back to do it again, catching up with Zayn who was still on the rope bridge, pretty terrified. Niall squeezed past him and ran to the slide again, doing this a few more times before Zayn finally made it down the slide as well.

“Fuck me, he has no fear,” he stood up with a hand over his heart as he peered around wondering where Niall went. They both then saw Niall hanging off the monkey bars, giggling as he swung.

“Niall, please be careful,” Harry said, just as Niall’s fingers slipped on the monkey bars and he fell onto his bottom. He giggled loudly and looked at the two boys. Well, he did have a padded bum to save him from the fall.

“Come on, let’s go on the swings where nobody will get hurt,” Zayn went over and hoisted Niall up. He took Niall’s hand and led him to the swings, pushing him on it then. He smiled brightly at Niall as he watched him, squealing each time he went in the air and kicking his legs.

“He loves this,” Harry smiled fondly at him, taking snapchats to send Liam. After a while of swinging, Niall’s eyes were growing heavy in his head as exhaustion overtook his excitement. The squealing soon stopped and his legs swung limply. Niall was tired. He hadn’t had a nap all day so although it was only seven in the evening, he’d had a busy day so he was exhausted.

“Are you ready to go home?” Zayn asked as he stopped pushing him. Niall shook his head and rubbed his eyes as he stepped off the swing.

“No, play,” he grumbled quietly, but both boys could tell he was far too exhausted to play any longer.

“Come on, let’s go home,” Harry took Niall’s hand, leading him out of the park. As soon as they got to the gate, Niall dropped to his bottom and started to cry.

“Up,” he whined, rubbing his eyes. Harry leaned down, picking up Niall. Niall cried into his shoulder, whining about how he wanted a nap. “Mimi,” he cried then, rubbing his stinging eyes.

“What’s mimi?” Zayn asked.

“I think it’s milk,” Harry said, rubbing Niall’s back as he cried. Niall cried the whole way home in Harry’s arms. When they finally arrived home after what felt like forever, Zayn quickly fetched a bottle of milk for Niall. Harry sat down with Niall who began sucking on the bottle, drinking the milk as quick as the bottle would let him.

…

The two boys fell down next to one another, gasping for air. Liam glanced to Louis who was smiling at him. He was not over exaggerating when he said it was the best sex he ever had because it was the best sex he had ever had!

He pulled Louis to his damp chest, letting him rest his cheek on it. He pulled the covers up over their bare bodies before pressing a gentle kiss to the top of his head. “That was great,” Louis whispered, pressing a delicate kiss to Liam’s chest.

“I don’t know why I ever thought I was straight, if I’m being honest,” Liam said, rubbed Louis’ back. Louis chuckled quietly and smiled up at him.

“I always knew you were gay, babe,” Louis patted Liam’s chest. “It wasn’t hard to tell,” he smiled as he closed his eyes. Liam looked rather offended but closed his eyes to sleep anyway.

…

Harry got Niall to bed after a nappy change and some cuddles. Niall only slept for an hour and he was awake crying for his daddy and papa. Harry got into bed with him, cuddling him but nothing seemed to soothe him.

He fetched Liam’s sweater, Niall cuddled it but didn’t stop crying. Liam’s scent seemed to make him more upset now because all he wanted was cuddles from him. For the following two hours, Niall cried for his daddy and papa while Harry lay next to him, attempting to do everything to soothe his cries but nothing worked.

He got Niall off to sleep at around twelve again but at two Niall was awake, sobbing louder than ever. “Wan’ daddy n’ papa,” he sobbed, rubbing his eyes. Harry sighed and sat up, pulling Niall into his arms.

“Daddy and papa are sleeping, you need to sleep now too,” he said as he rocked Niall gently in his arms. Niall’s sobs got louder and he found it hard to breathe because his nose was full of snot from crying so much. He began to hyperventilate and frighten himself when he began to struggle to draw in a breath.

“Niall, calm down,” Harry sighed, feeling exhausted himself. Harry got a tissue and wiped Niall’s nose which was all snotty before he wiped under Niall’s eyes. Niall just continued to sob loudly, missing them more now.

Harry sighed deeply, lying down and pulling Niall to lay with him. Niall began to scream as he cried, getting very agitated. His body began heating up, sweat accumulating on it. His cries only grew louder and his breathing was becoming more laboured. Harry rolled Niall onto his tummy which emitted another scream from Niall. “Shhh, shhhh,” he whispered, unzipping Niall’s onesie and pulling it off his top half. Niall wriggled then, getting it off his whole body. Harry pulled it off his legs, using it to wipe the sweat off Niall’s back before he began to massage it.

Niall’s cries soon calmed and he lay quietly as Harry massaged his back. This always calmed him, he loved getting his back rubbed. As Harry massaged all the tense spots on Niall’s back -which turned out to be a lot- Niall was completely calm. Harry popped a pacifier in Niall’s mouth and soon enough, he was asleep again.

Not long later, though, he was awake sobbing for daddy and papa again. Harry proceeded to give Niall another back rub, doing this routine ever half an hour, or hour, depending on when Niall woke up. By eight in the morning, Harry was fatigued. His head was banging from listening to Niall sobbing for half the night. He honestly didn’t know how Liam and Louis did this every day all the time. Niall is hard work, a lot of hard work.

He turned his head to Niall who was sitting next to him with a smile on his face. “Morning,” he smiled, in a much better mood than during the night.

“Morning Niall,” Harry rubbed his eyes, sitting up as well. He checked his phone for the time, sighing quietly and standing up to go to the bathroom. Niall slid off the bed and crawled behind him, following him into the bathroom. Harry felt a little awkward as Niall sat on the floor while he showered and went to the loo. Niall didn’t though, it seemed to Harry this was something Niall did every morning - which it was. He sat quietly playing with his teddy, not bothering Harry the slightest - other than the fact he found it slightly awkward being naked in front of him.

When Harry was dressed, he got Niall’s changing mat out and patted it, gesturing for to come lay down. “Don’t need change,” Niall grumbled, standing at the door, although Harry could see his nappy sagging between his legs.

“Come over until I check then,” he raised an eyebrow. Niall huffed but padded over, standing while Harry stuck his finger inside Niall’s nappy, finding it was indeed wet. He pulled the back of Niall’s nappy just to inspect all areas, his eyes widening. “Niall, your dirty too,” he said, biting on his lip.

“No,” Niall shook his head. Harry told him he was but Niall didn’t think so. He didn’t know he had dirtied, he didn’t recall doing it, meaning he either did it in his sleep or subconsciously. The fact he didn't know he had done it, meant he wasn't scared for the change for once. 

“Right, let’s get that nappy off you and have a bath, yeah?” Harry patted the mat.

“No!” Niall squealed before opening the door and running out of the room. Harry groaned and dropped his face into his hands. He slowly stood up, going to the door where he saw Niall standing next to the staircase.

“Niall, please can we just get this over with?” Harry sighed as he watched Niall giggling. He shook his head and went to run down the stairs.

“Catch me!” He giggled before running down them. He missed the last two steps and fell to the bottom on his knees but was up again before Harry had even gone down the first step. Niall’s pain threshold seemed pretty impressive to Harry, although, that may be concerning, depending on how you look at it.

Harry caught up with Niall in dining room. Niall giggled from one end of the table and when Harry ran to Niall’s side, Niall ran the other way. squealing as he did. “Niall James Horan, get back here,” Harry said. He was not very authoritative, though, as he giggled while he spoke.

He ran after Niall again, getting out of breath himself. They ran around the house a few times before Niall ran into the sunroom, seeing outside through the glass doors. He ran straight into these glass doors and fell onto his bum. That’s the second time he thought he could run through glass. _When will he learn?_

“Jesus, are you okay?” Harry rushed over to him because that sounded painful. Niall was just giggling on the floor, holding his nose which hurt but he didn’t tell Harry it did. “Caught you!” Harry exclaimed then, picking Niall up and slinging him over his shoulder. Niall giggled the whole way upstairs, out of puff so he didn’t struggle with Harry.

“That was fun,” he giggled as soon as they entered the bathroom.

“For some,” Harry rolled his eyes fondly as he lay Niall down on the mat. “Here,” he handed Niall a bottle with water in it which he drank down hastily. Once he cleaned off Niall he got him into the bath, washing him off. He had to say, as weird as it was, that he enjoyed bathing Niall. Seeing him with shampoo in his hair, his eyelashes wet and bubble bath all over his body just conveyed the innocence he held these days. He was just so damn cute.

Harry wrapped Niall tightly in a towel, resting him on his hip. Niall rested his head on Harry’s shoulder as he went to his room and picked out some clothes for Niall. Niall put his fingers, sucking on them as Harry set him down on his bed.

“Smile,” Harry held up his phone taking a snapchat to send Liam. Niall just looked adorable, sitting in a fluffy towel, his fingers in his mouth and his hair wet. Niall smiled, showing Harry all his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut. Harry had to coo at how cute the photo looked.

“Okay, that is the cutest photo ever,” he chuckled as he picked Niall up again. He gave him an Eskimo kiss. Niall giggled as their noses touched, smiling broadly at Harry. “I think I’ll be sad taking you home,” Harry smiled at Niall.

“Tinkle,” Niall glanced at Harry, scrunching his face up. Harry was about to respond when he felt it against his hip. _Fuck_ , was all he could think.

“Maybe I’ll be glad sending you home,” Harry frowned down at Niall who was glancing at him with bright blue eyes, looking rather fearful.

“Sowry,” Niall’s eyes filled with tears as Harry set him on his feet, the now wet towel - for reasons other than the fact Niall had been dried with it - falling onto the ground. Harry ran a hand through his hair. grumbling to himself as he walked to the bathroom to take yet another shower.

Just as he had stripped off Niall crawled in with one of Harry’s belts dragging behind him. He sat on his bum and handed it to Harry, tears running down his cheek. “Why are you giving me this?” Harry frowned, looking at the belt in his hand.

“I is bad,” Niall whimpered. Harry then came to the realisation that Niall thought he was going to hit him. His eyes widened and he immediately dropped the belt. Niall jumped. “Be gentle,” he wouldn’t look at Harry.

“Niall, I’m not going to hit you,” Harry knelt down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Niall flinched, glancing up at him with tears running down his cheeks. “I would never hit you, why would i?”

“I is bad,” he bowed his head again.

“No, Niall, that was an accident and it was my fault. I should have gotten you in your nappy sooner,” Harry said and Niall began to sob. Not because he was upset Harry wasn’t going to hit him, but because he was relieved. He thought he was in big trouble, his da would always make him pick out his own torture mechanism any time he wet himself - or messed. “Hey no,” he pulled Niall’s trembling frame to his. “It was my fault now come on, let’s get you in a nappy and some clothes,” he carried Niall to his bedroom where he dressed him. “You’ve been such a good boy for me,” he said as soon as Niall was dressed, kissing the top of his head gently.

“Now, you stay here and draw me a nice picture, I’m going to have a shower and after that we’ll have breakfast and I’ll take you home to daddy and papa, yeah?” Harry asked, handing Niall a refill pad and some sharpie markers. Niall nodded with a smile before tipping the packet of sharpies out on the bed.

Niall drew Harry a picture of the two of them before drawing one of Niall and his daddy and papa. When he was done, Harry was still in the shower. Niall slipped off the bed with markers in hand, curiously crawling to Harry’s closet. He saw Harry’s gold boots sitting on the ground and glanced to the blue marker he had. His boots would look much better blue, right?!

Niall grabbed one of them, scribbling the blue marker all over it before doing the next shoe. _Harry would love his new blue shoes, wouldn’t he_? _Maybe I should do a shirt to match,_ Niall thought to himself. He thought this idea he sparked was a great one and so he coloured in a few shirts for Harry.

Just as he was about to colour in his third pair of boots to match the third top, Harry walked into the closet. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped. “Niall, what did you do?!” He yelled and Niall immediately covered his ears and cowered.

“My boots, oh my God, my shirts, do you know how much these cost?” Harry sighed, picking them up and cradling them to his chest. “Niall, you just ruined my boots,” Harry sighed. “These were limited editions too.”

Niall furrowed his eyebrows, looking to Harry worriedly with his fingers in his mouth, chewing on them. “I’m sorry I-“ Niall began but Harry cut him off.

“It’s okay,” Harry sighed, even though he wanted to strangle Niall. Liam told him shouting scared Niall so he didn’t want to frighten him when he was only getting comfortable around him. At the end of the day, they were only shoes and shirts, they could be replaced with newer versions but once Niall’s trust is gone, it’s gone.

“Just hand over the sharpies and please never do that again,” Harry held his hand out to Niall. Niall crawled over hesitantly, placing the markers in Harry’s hand.

“M’sorry ‘arry,” he whimpered. He thought Harry would like creativeness but evidently not. He felt a little bad for doing it but he didn’t understand what he did wrong. He sniffled quietly, bowing his head as he held out his wrist. Harry frowned down at it, wondering why Niall was holding out his wrist.

“Niall, what is it?” Harry frowned. Tears were running down Niall’s cheeks but he wasn’t crying audibly. He knew if he just offered somewhere to be hit his da wouldn’t do it as hard. He would get angrier when Niall tensed up and cowered away.

“Niall bad,” he whispered, not looking to Harry, his petite frame shaking as he awaited punishment.

“Niall! I’m not going to hit you, oh my God,” Harry leaned down and immediately picked up Niall, holding his trembling frame close to his chest. “Why would I hit you?” He sighed, pressing his lips to the top of Niall’s head, feeling immediately guilty again that Niall thought he was going to.

“Wan’ daddy n’ papa,” he cried quietly into Harry’s shoulder.

“Hey, I need to get breakfast into you first,” Harry said, rubbing Niall’s back gently. Niall shook his head, not in the mood for breakfast. All he wanted right now was cuddles from hid daddy and papa.

“Mimi,” he cried into Harry’s shoulder. Harry nodded, not wanting to upset or stress Niall any further. He got Niall a bottle of milk and got him into the car, letting him drink it on the way back to Liam’s.

When they arrived home, he carried a rather enervated Niall inside, he not only looked exhausted but his eyes were red and puffy from crying. He chewed on the nipple of his bottle as Harry carried him in. “We’re home!” Harry yelled which made Niall shut his eyes and whimper.

“Niall!” Liam and Louis both came running down the hall.

“Daddy! Papa!” Niall exclaimed, not knowing who to run to first. He gave Louis a quick hug before running to Liam and hugging him too. He then ran back to Louis, then to Liam again not knowing who he wanted to cuddle with. He was just so excited to see the two of them!

“Were you a good boy?” Liam asked, pressing a kiss to the top of Niall’s head.

“A little,” he mumbled and bowed his head.

“He was good, he just had a little accident on me and maybe drew on my shoes but he didn’t know any better,” Harry said as Niall sniffled quietly, clutching one of Liam’s hand and one of Louis’. “He was so fun to have,” Harry smiled. “I’ll take him anytime again as long as I don’t give him sharpies and remember to get his nappy on again quickly,” Harry chuckled.

Louis smiled at Niall and ruffled his hair. “Wanna come see your surprise?” Louis asked, nudging Niall who nodded immediately. Louis took Niall’s hand and lead him to the back sliding doors. When Niall saw what was outside, he immediately ran, straight into the glass doors. For the third time, he fell on his bottom, glancing back at Louis as he rubbed his nose.

“What are you like?” Louis shook his head, chuckling as he helped Niall stand up again. He led him outside to where his new football goal posts were, some footballs, as well as a mega one and a new football kit for Niall. He squealed and jumped on the spot, asking Louis to put it on him already. Louis chuckled but helped him into it, watching Niall run and jump on the giant ball. He giggled loudly as he rolled over it and fell on the grass. He loved this mega ball!

“Did you guys have a good night?” Harry asked Liam as the two watched Louis and Niall play football outside.

“Yeah, it was great. Although, it was strange without Niall. It was very weird waking up in the morning and not having someone staring at us waiting for a bottle or a change,” Liam chuckled. “I definitely missed him but on the bright side, Louis and I are now boyfriends,” Liam grinned, smiling broadly. He couldn’t help but feel euphoric because well, he simply just felt so happy with Louis and Niall. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this! I loved writing about Niall, Harry and Zayn! Thanks for all the comments on the last chapter, I appreciate them all! Like always, tell me what you think down below and leave any requests/suggestions! Thanks again!
> 
> I love you all so so much and hope you're having/had a great day! See you soon, lots of love, A Xx.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't edit this but enjoy it anyways! Xx

Niall was in the living room, rolling around on his mega ball when a nurse arrived in the evening. Liam had called the doctor, informing him of his worries concerning Niall’s health and eating. the doctor sent out his nurse so Liam wouldn’t have to actually take Niall to the doctors. 

Niall watched her as she set her bag down, pushing on his knees to aid his body to roll over and back with the ball. She introduced herself to Niall who rolled off the ball and sat on his bottom. He immediately shuffled backwards to the couch where Louis was sat, sitting between his legs. He wrapped his arms around one of Louis’ legs as he watched Liam who was chatting to the nurse, telling her what he wanted her to check. 

“Hey Niall, I’m just going to check a few things over with you now, is that okay?” She questioned, coming over and kneeling next to Niall. Niall nodded timidly, putting his fingers in his mouth and chewing on them. 

“Are you hungry?” She asked when she saw him chew on his fingers. Niall shook his head while she got the blood pressure monitor out, putting it on Niall. “This is gonna get tighter,” she told Niall who was watching it curiously. He whined as it tightened and started to cry. 

“It’s gonna eat your arm off, Niall,” Louis teased which had Niall screaming. “Oh my God, I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he picked up Niall and held him to his chest, trying not to laugh at his reaction. 

“Papa stop being mean,” Liam rolled his eyes from where he was sat on the armchair. 

“Yeah papa,” Niall pouted, tears running down his cheeks. 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Louis held Niall tightly as the nurse gave Louis a look. She had to take his blood pressure again because it went sky high when Louis told Niall it was going to eat his arm. 

“Does he sleep a lot during the day?” She asked as took out a notepad to write down some more notes. 

“Yeah, he has to have at least one nap, if he doesn’t he’s very cranky and tired. He actually had two today. He was awake early in the morning so it meant he was tired earlier,” Liam told her. 

“And has he regular bowel movements?” She asked to which Liam unsurely nodded.

“Well, he’s a lot better than what he was. He goes most days but sometimes not every day,” Liam blushed a little. Niall watched him as he sucked on his fingers, wondering why this strange lady was here. 

“Okay, and they’re normal, like he doesn’t have any trouble passing it?” She asked. “Or they’re not too loose either?” Liam just shook his head, not really knowing if it was the right answer, but it was an answer. 

“Okay, I need his weight now,” she said, taking out some scales. “Take everything off him please,” she smiled at Niall assuringly as Louis began to strip him with expertise. Niall then took his own wet nappy off which had Louis rolling his eyes fondly. “Stand here please,” the nurse led Niall over to the scales. He stood on them for a few seconds while the nurse wrote down the numbers before putting them on a graph, showing how much Niall’s weight had dropped. 

“It’s dropped significantly since the last time he was at the doctors,” she showed the boys the chart. The negative drop in the chart below the red line was more than alarming to them. “The weight above here, which is what he was this time last year was a normal weight, then he dropped dramatically,” she pointed to the last doctors visit which was just hoovering above the red line. “To now,” she pointed to where it dropped drastically under the line. 

“Oh God,” Liam sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “He’s just so hard to get to eat, sometimes its easier to just give in and give him milk,” he sighed deeply, feeling bad for not continuing to force Niall to eat his dinner every day. 

“I know. I know, you’ve been trying your best,” the nurse nodded as Niall crawled over to Louis who got him back in a nappy, not trusting Niall. “I’m going to start Niall on a milk formula specialised for adults who can’t physically chew or swallow but in this circumstance I think it would be suiting as well. It will basically get all the calories and all the nutrients he needs into him for each meal. This should help the weight problem and if he doesn’t want to eat, then you don’t have to force him or worry about it,” she told them and both the boys felt rather relieved. 

“Oh great,” Liam smiled. “I was so worried, I didn’t know what we were going to do,” he said, a hand over his heart. 

“I have a box of it here with me as I thought he might need it. We’ll get more delivered out to you though,” she informed Liam as she scavenged through her bag. She brought out a box that resembled much like a baby’s formula would. “You just make it like a normal formula, it’s pretty straightforward,” she stood up. Her and Liam went to the kitchen and she demonstrated to Liam while Louis pulled a pair of fluffy, striped pyjama pants up Niall’s legs. 

Just as he was pulling Niall’s pyjama top over his head, Liam came in with the bottle. The nurse came in and did a few tests on Niall. She tested his strength by getting him to push on her hands with his arms and legs. She found him to be quite weak for a man. She then got him to do various things such as walk, stand on one leg (which he wobbled and fell over) and she tested his reflexes. When she finished the tests, Louis pulled Niall back onto his lap. 

“Hey Ni, want vthis milk?” Liam held it out to Niall who immediately took it. He began to suckle on the teat and frowned when he found the formula to be a lot thicker than normal which restrained him from drinking the milk fast. He liked it though, it tasted nice but it was going to take him a lot longer than usual to drink. 

“Like that?” Louis ran a hand through his hair. Niall looked up through his lashes and nodded. 

“I’m just going to take some bloods before I go to make sure everything is as it should be,” the nurse said as she took out a small kit. She took one of Niall’s hand from his bottle which had him holding it unsteadily in his right hand. “It’s going to be a little jab and the last thing I do to annoy you,” the nurse said as she wiped Niall’s elbow crease with a wet wipe. “You gotta stay still for me, okay?” she asked. Niall nodded timidly and didn’t even flinch when the needle penetrated his skin. 

Louis watched Niall’s face scrunch up and his eyes water as she moved the needle around inside his arm, attempting to get into his vein properly. He whimpered behind the bottle, holding in his cries as milk dribbled down his chin onto the bib he wore. 

“Aww Ni, you’re doing so, so well,” Louis rubbed Niall’s thighs. The nurse finally got the needle in and blood began drawing into the awaiting test tubes. As she pulled out the needle out Niall began to sob, the bottle dropping from between his lips. 

“Aw Niall, I’m sorry, you’ve been so good. I’m done annoying you now,” she said. “Hey, wanna choose a plaster?” She held up some Mickey mouse, Peppa pig and various other cartoon plasters. 

“Peppa,” Niall sniffled, holding out his arms. The nurse smiled put it on the small cut where a bruise was starting to form around it. “Now, you’ve been so good Niall,” she smiled at him. He smiled shyly and picked up his bottle again, starting to suck again as he barely drunk anything with at the slow pace he was forced to drink it. 

“So when will we get the results of the blood tests?” Liam questioned. 

“They’ll be back in a few days, I’ll give you a buzz if anything catches our attention in them, otherwise, I’ll see you in a week or so to check up the progress on how he’s doing and see if he’s gaining weight,” she told Liam who nodded. 

“Okay, thank you so much,” Liam said with a smile. He led her to the door while Louis rubbed Niall’s belly gently. It took Niall twenty minutes to finish half his bottle and by that stage he was more than full. 

Louis took the bottle from his hands and left it sitting on the coffee table. Louis used Niall’s bib to wipe around his mouth before he set him down in his ball pit. Niall took one of the balls, trying to get it into his mouth but he couldn’t, despite his endeavours. He dribbled around the ball, watching Louis through his eyelashes. For some reason, Niall looked so much more young and innocent today. 

Niall chewed on the balls for a while and only stopped when Zayn arrived. He smiled shyly behind a ball when he saw him. “Hi Niall,” Zayn smiled but Niall didn’t say anything. He smiled shyly and wriggled around in the ballpit. 

“Hey Ni, don’t you remember him?” Louis nudged him. Niall nodded, burying his face in Louis’ side. “Who is it?” He asked Niall, rubbing his back. Niall knew Zayn’s face and voice, he just couldn’t recall his name… Niall shrugged shyly, putting his fingers in his mouth. 

“Is it Harry?” Louis asked, putting his arms around Niall. 

“No!” Niall squealed, giggling and glancing up at him. 

“Is it Zayn?” Louis whispered and Niall nodded, watching Zayn set down the basket he had with him. 

“I brought around some things you can probably use for Niall, it’s to say sorry for not being around to like help, and yeah…” he swayed on his feet. 

“Thanks, Zayn,” Louis smiled, standing up and taking a look at what was in it. It consisted of things that have become essentials for Niall which won’t go amiss. Louis gave Zayn a ‘manly’ hug, which consists of one arm and a pat on the back. “Do I get a cuddle from Niall?” Zayn held his hands out to Niall. Niall shied away, smiling softly into his shoulder. He chewed on his fingers before he held his hands out to Zayn, as though telling him it was okay for him to pick him up. 

Zayn placed a hand under Niall’s padded bum, holding him against his chest. Niall recognised his scent and then rest his head on Zayn’s shoulder. He sucked on his thumb but Zayn quickly replaced it with a dummy. 

He placed Niall on his feet after a few minutes and cooed at how cute he looked. His pyjama pants hung low and were covering his feet. They were too long to begin with but with half his nappy showing, they were being trailed on the floor. 

“Liam, his pyjamas are too big,” Zayn cooed as he pulled Niall’s fluffy pyjama bottoms up. They still covered his feet even after they were pulled up and Zayn noticed how they were too big on his waist. 

“i know, they’re an extra small mens, he could do with kids pyjamas,” Liam said as he watched Niall sit on his bum and start playing with toys. He smiled softly as Niall drove the cars over his thighs, making ‘zoom’ sounds and a ‘bang!’ when he crashed both cars together. 

Just before Liam was about to leave the room, his eyes widened when he saw Niall freeze and his mouth fell open. Some of the milk repeated on him and just flowed down his chin onto the bib and pyjamas he wore. 

Zayn quickly went and got a towel which Liam used to wipe Niall off as best as he could. He stripped him to his nappy then, wiping off his chest while Niall sucked on his fingers. “Did you drink too much?” Liam asked as he handed the dirty towel and pyjamas to Zayn to throw in the washing basket. Niall just looked at him with bright blue eyes, wide and alert. He smiled behind his fingers, a string of spit falling down onto his chest. 

“Right, bath time and then bed, is that okay?” Liam asked Niall who whined and shook his head. “What? Do you want dinner?” Liam asked, glancing down at Niall who got up on his knees, holding his arms out to Liam. Niall buried his face in Liam’s shoulder when he picked him up. “Ni, you gotta use your words, otherwise I don’t know what you want,” Liam sighed as he carried him upstairs to where Zayn was filling a bath for Niall, Louis adding far too many bubbles for Niall. 

As soon as Niall was put in the bath, he started to cry. He basically screamed when Liam began washing his hair, just throwing a total fit. He kicked his legs and thrashed his arms around. He wanted to tell Liam what was wrong but he couldn’t find the words. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Louis asked as Liam took him out of the bath. 

“Sure I don’t know, he won’t tell me,” he deeply sighed as he carried Niall to the bedroom and lay him on the bed. He rubbed over Niall’s pale skin with the towel, getting every crevice before he got Niall in a nappy and pyjamas. At this point, Niall was still crying. Liam placed Niall on his hip, walking around the room and bouncing him gently. Niall rubbed his eyes which were stinging. 

Some moments later, Niall burped and was sick down Liam’s back. That’s what he wanted to tell Liam, that he didn’t feel good, but he wasn’t able to find the words. Although, I think the words made themselves clear without having to be said. Once he was sick, his cries stopped because he felt better. 

“Do you feel better now, Niall?” Louis giggled from the doorway as Liam groaned quietly. Niall nodded, his bright blue eyes gleaming in the light while he chewed on his fingers. 

“Thanks for sharing your dinner with me,” Liam sighed as he put Niall into his crib. Louis tucked Niall into bed while Liam went to wash off. Louis watched Niall, cuddling his teddy and sucking quietly on his dummy as he fell asleep. His innocence never ceased to amaze Louis. 

… 

“You nice and clean now?” Louis whispered to Liam as he climbed into bed next to him. Liam rolled his eyes, lying down and letting out a dramatic sigh. “Oh, is poor Liam grumpy,” Louis bopped him on the nose, speaking in a baby voice. 

“Well, you would be too if you just got vomited on,” Liam pouted. 

“I can make you feel better,” Louis smirked, putting a hand inside Liam’s boxers. Liam jumped and his eyes went wide. 

“Louis, we can’t do this here, Niall’s in the room,” Liam hissed. 

“He’s sleeping,” Louis replied, squeezing Liam as he began to make out with him. Liam had to hold back a groan. He glanced around the barely lit room, his eyes falling to Niall. He was sleeping soundly in his crib, his dummy bobbing in his mouth. That didn’t make it okay for them to do this though. 

Before Liam really had a chance to resist, Louis had both their boxers off in record time. He didn’t even recall him taking them off. “Be quiet,” Louis whispered as he rolled over and pulled Liam on top of him. Liam nodded getting himself ‘prepared’ as such. But their pact of staying quiet was not effective because as soon as Liam was ‘inside’ a loud groan fell from both their lips. They were enjoying it too much to stop though. 

Some minutes later which involved, panting, grunting and moaning, Louis glanced over to the crib to Niall as he dug his fingernails into Liam’s back. His eyes widened when he saw Niall sitting upright in the crib watching with fear-filled eyes. He had his teddy pressed to his face and his dummy had fallen from his mouth. 

“Liam,” Louis patted him. “Liam he’s awake,” Louis hissed, trying to push Liam off him. Liam’s eyes widened and he quickly pulled out and looked at Niall, out of breath. 

Niall began to cry loudly, holding his hands out through the bars of the crib. “Aww baby,” Liam cooed, standing up. He quickly pulled on a pair of sweatpants before going over to Niall and picking him up. “I’m sorry for scaring you,” he cooed, holding the back of Niall’s head to his neck as Louis got up and put his boxers back on. 

“Daddy,” he cried into Liam’s neck as Liam rocked him gently. 

“I told you to be quiet,” Louis grumbled as he got back into bed. 

“You were louder than me,” Liam shot him a glare as he lay down on the bed with Niall still in his arms. Niall rolled off Liam’s chest between the two boys. He wiped his eyes and then stuck his finger in his mouth, suckling on it. 

“Give out to papa and tell him he shouldn’t be making daddy do things like that when you’re here,” Liam shot Louis a glare. Louis just smirked, boyish and predicable. He shrugged while Niall watched Liam with watery eyes. 

“Bad papa,” Niall sniffled from behind his thumb he was sucking on. 

“Well daddy didn’t tell papa no,” Louis raised an eyebrow at Liam and even in the dim light in the room, he could clearly see the rosy hue on Liam’s cheeks. Niall sat up and glanced around the room before leaning over Liam and reaching for the dummy on the bedside table. Once he had it, he lay down between the two boys again and closed his eyes. 

“Night night,” Niall mumbled behind his dummy. “Love ‘ou,” he said which made both boys smile at one another. 

…

The following day Liam was getting ready in the bathroom as per usual with Niall at his feet. It was his sisters birthday today so he was going to his family home and Niall and Louis were coming. He was a little anxious about his family meeting Niall although he knew they were well prepared for him because Liam had told them all about him. 

As for Louis on the other hand… they knew about him but Liam didn’t know how they would feel about meeting his first boyfriend. He hoped it would go well. 

“Are you gonna be a good boy for us today?” Liam asked Niall, raising an eyebrow at him as he handed him a toothbrush with a pea sized amount on it. Niall nodded as he took it and began brushing his teeth rather sloppily. “You’re gonna meet my mum and dad, are you nervous?” He asked, taking the toothbrush from Niall and wiping around his mouth. 

He shook his head, crawling back to Liam’s room after him. Liam dressed Niall in a pair of black skinny jeans, a button-up shirt with a pair of brown suede boots. He helped Niall into a bomber jacket and then carried him to the car. 

When they arrived, Liam carried a rather fearful looking Niall inside. His mother and father immediately greeted him at the doors, hugs for him. Niall was sandwiched in the middle of these hugs which had him whining. 

“Hi Niall,” his mother smiled, rubbing Niall’s forearm. Niall hid his face in Liam’s neck and whined again. 

“He gets nervous,” Liam bit on his lip as Louis followed behind him. Louis also received lung crushing hugs from both parents. Liam set Niall down once he got to the door of the living room. 

“Ruth! Happy birthday!” He went over to her, hugging her and handing her the gift he had in his hand. Niall looked around anxiously and whimpered, not liking that Liam had left him on his own in this strange place. “Hey Ni, give Ruth the present you have for her,” Liam gestured to her.

“No,” Niall cried and ran over to him, burying his face in his side. Ruth cooed quietly as Liam picked Niall up who immediately stopped crying. 

“Have you got a present for me?” She asked Niall gently. Niall shook his head and held the gift tighter to his chest. “Oh, is it not for me? Are you keeping it?” She asked and Niall nodded. 

“I open it,” he said as Liam set him down on his feet. Niall sat on his bottom on the ground and glanced up at Ruth.

“Niall, that’s not yours, you have to give it to Ruth,” Liam scolded. 

“No, he’s opening it for me,” Ruth said as Niall began tearing the paper. When he saw it was a pair of girls pyjamas, he had little interest in them and threw them aside. Just as he did, Louis entered the room with a bottle he just made up for Niall. 

Louis sat on the couch and pulled Niall onto his lap, handing him the bottle to drink as he cuddled him. Niall kicked off his boots as he sucked on the bottle, glancing around at everyone in the room. 

Karen and Ruth both watched Niall as he drank his bottle. “So how much longer do you think he’ll be in this headspace?” Karen asked as Louis put a bib on Niall who was dribbling on his shirt. 

“We don’t really know to be honest. I quite like him in it so I hope he stays in it longer,” Liam smiled softly, watching Niall who let his bottle drop from between his lips before a burp was produced from between them.

“’Scuse me!’ Niall giggled which made everyone in the room smile at how adorable he was. He handed his bottle to Louis then, even though he’d barely drunk any of it. Louis didn’t force him to drink any more because he knew it was heavy on Niall’s malnourished stomach. 

Niall slid off the couch and sat on his bum, smiling behind his fingers at everyone. “Wanna come help me ice some cupcakes?” Karen asked Niall who’s face lit up. Niall nodded and crawled after her to the kitchen. 

She helped him up onto a stool at the kitchen island and was surprised when she could actually lift him with no problem. She shrugged it off and placed some bowls with an array of colours in front of Niall. Niall was in awe as he dipped a finger in the blue one, licking it off then. 

“Oi, no eating the icing now, if there’s any left at the end, you can lick the bowls clean,” Karen said, taking the dishcloth and wiping Niall’s finger off. She handed Niall a icing bag and a cupcake and watched him as he squeezed icing out all over the top of the cupcake and all over the counter. When the deemed the cupcake had enough icing, he grabbed the sprinkles and added a shit tonne of those. He repeated this process a couple of times until there were only two cupcakes left. After each cupcake he was licking his fingers. He ended up extremely stick, to say the least. 

“Do special one for daddy n’ papa,” he said, taking the icing bag again. He put extra icing on theirs and then attempted to write ‘daddy’ on one and ‘papa’ on the other, although they were illegible. 

“Oh they’re looking very pretty,” Liam’s mother smiled as Niall added smarties on top of theirs. “Are Liam and Louis special? They’re the only ones who get smarties?” She asked and Niall nodded with a giggle. She wiped Niall’s face and fingers with a damp cloth. “Okay, you go give them their cupcakes then,” she placed one in either one of Niall’s hands. 

Niall slid off the stool and ran to the living room where Liam, Louis, Ruth, Nicola and his dad were there. He got a little hesitant when he saw the new face and slowly walked over to Liam with the cupcakes. 

“Oh wow Ni, what dd you make?” Liam asked with a smile. 

“Cupcake for daddy,” he whispered to Liam, holding out the cupcake to him. 

“Oh wow, thanks Niall,” he smiled as he admired how Niall had attempted to write ‘daddy’ on his. “Is that one for papa?” He asked quietly. Niall nodded, glancing over at Louis who was sitting next to the new face in the room; Nicola. “Go give it to him,” Liam ushered Niall to go over but Niall stood his ground and wouldn’t move. 

“No,” Niall whined, gripping Liam’s hand in his. 

“Can I have my cupcake?” Louis came over to Niall who quickly handed it to Louis and then buried his face in Liam’s chest. He didn’t like seeing so many new faces he was unsure of, it made him feel rather anxious. 

“Niall, you forgot your cupcake,” Karen came in and handed Niall a cupcake. He smiled and took it, beginning to lick the icing. Once he had licked all the icing off the cupcake he didn’t have much interest in the cupcake itself. He nibbled on it before leaving it sitting on the coffee table. 

“Wanna go play?” Liam asked Niall, trying to slide him off his lap but as soon as he did Niall whined and turned around, wrapping his arms around Liam’s neck. Niall attempted to pry Niall off him but he only began to cry. Liam knew he was getting tired on top of being in a new territory with new people. 

“Niall come over to me,” Louis held his hands out to Niall who began screaming, shaking his head before bursting into tears again. “He needs a nap,” Louis said as Niall rubbed his eyes. 

“Put him in our bed, it has an electric blanket so he’ll be nice and cosy,” Karen smiled. Liam nodded quickly, standing up and bringing Niall’s bag with him as he knew he was due a change. 

He laid Niall on the bed and pulled down his skinny jeans to find his nappy indeed wet. Niall began whining, rubbing his eyes, he didn’t want to be changed. He began to wriggle around and cry, glancing at Liam with big watering eyes. 

“Does he always hate nappy changes this much?” Karen asked from behind Liam. 

“No, he’s generally fine but he’s just all jittery here to begin with here. He gets very anxious,” Liam said, opening Niall’s nappy. Niall put his thumb in his mouth and began sucking on it, pacifying himself. Liam quickly wiped him down and taped a new nappy on his waist. “Now, you’re all done,” Liam said, lifting Niall and putting him under the covers. He gave him his dummy and teddy, gently kissing his forehead.

As soon as him and his mum went to leave the room, Niall sat up in the bed, sobbing even though he felt exhausted. He held his hands out to Liam, crying “daddy” the whole time. 

“You go back downstairs, I’ll just lay with him until he falls asleep,” Liam said, getting into bed next to Niall. Once Niall was in his arms, he calmed down and was asleep within minutes. 

When Liam came downstairs his mother was inviting Louis to come out to dinner with the family but Louis politely declined. “I think I should take Niall home because there’s no way he’ll sit through a meal out,” Louis said, rubbing Liam’s knee when he sat down next to him. Liam smiled widely at the fact his mother obviously accepted his relationship with Louis already. “And you deserve to have a nice time out with your family,” he said to Liam. 

“No, we’d love you to come,” Karen smiled. “Niall is more than welcome too,” 

“No, it’s best if we go home but thank you for the offer,” Louis smiled. Liam took Louis’ hand in his and smiled softly. “You have a nice time,” Louis leaned up and kissed Liam gently. His cheeks flared when Louis did this but none of his family even looked twice at them. 

After a while of everyone chatting, soft whines were heard from the doorway where Niall was glancing in hesitantly. He glanced to the two girls sitting on the couch before quickly running over to the two lads, clutching his teddy tightly in his arms. He got up onto Louis’ lap and buried his face in his chest, inhaling Louis’ scent and immediately feeling comforted. 

“You didn’t sleep for long, bud,” Louis gently teased his hand through Niall’s hair. Niall just smiled up at him through his dummy before resting his head on Louis’ chest. 

“His legs are so skinny,” Karen commented, looking at Niall’s exposed legs swinging between Louis’. He wasn’t wearing anything other than his nappy and his shirt. “Do you feed him at all?” She joked but it made Liam feel pretty guilty. 

“Yeah, but he’s super hard to get to eat. We recently started him on a new formula so we’re hoping he’ll gain weight with that,” Liam mumbled, not really wanting to talk about it. He already felt bad enough about how malnourished he looked. His mother pointing it out really hit home. He wanted to be the best ‘parent’ he could for Niall but he knew he wasn’t quite hitting that target. 

“Actually speaking of that, he’s due a feed,” Louis said to Liam who nodded. Liam fetched a bottle and handed it to Niall who began to suckle on the teat of the bottle. 

“Does he not eat, like food?” Ruth asked. 

“Yeah, but he’s very difficult to get to eat at times. Sometimes he wants food and other times he just wants a bottle,” Liam shrugged, blushing a little as he spoke. His sister nodded and gave him a reassuring smile to show she wasn’t being judgemental, just curious. 

“He was eating the icing no problem,” Karen chuckled and so did the boys. 

“He has a sweet tooth,” Louis smiled down at him adoringly, running a hand through his hair. He wanted Niall drink for the next ten minutes, handing Louis the bottle back then. “Enough?” He asked and Niall nodded. Louis checked and found Niall had only drank five ounces but he guessed it was better than nothing. 

“Peppa,” Niall pointed to the telly and looked to Ruth who had the remote. 

“What?” She frowned, not understanding what he had said. 

“Peppa,” Niall repeated, sitting up straighter in Louis’ lap and pointing to the telly as he bounced in his lap. 

“He wants to watch Peppa Pig,” Liam explained to her and she nodded then, smiling softly at Niall. She turned the channel to the kids channel and was lucky enough to find Peppa pig was on. Niall sat back quietly then, watching the telly as the ‘adults’ chatted. 

Ten minutes into the show, Niall burped and the milk from earlier on made a reappearance, flowing down his chin onto his shirt. “Shit,” Louis jumped when he saw Niall being sick. Liam quickly ran and got a towel, wiping off Niall. 

“See, even the milk makes him sick,” Liam sighed as he unbuttoned Niall’s shirt. “His tummy just isn’t used to eating anymore,” he told his mum as he got the pyjamas he had packed out of the bag. 

Niall glanced to her, sucking on his fingers as he did. Liam had to remove his fingers from his mouth so he could get Niall’s pyjama top over his head. “He needs a change,” Louis pointed out, grabbing a nappy and handing it to Liam. 

Liam nodded, changing Niall as quick as he could considering the room was full but that didn’t bother Niall. It bothered Liam more to change him in front of an audience. Once he had Niall’s pyjama bottoms up, Niall crawled over to Karen. He sat on his bottom and smiled up at her through his fingers. He’d taken a keen liking to her. 

“Are you ready to go home?” Louis asked, coming over behind Niall and glancing down at him. Niall nodded, turning to look at Louis. 

“No, he wants to stay with me,” Karen smiled down at Niall who giggled. “Are you going to stay with me?” Karen asked and Niall shook his head, turning around to Louis and making grabby hands to be picked up. “No? You don’t want to stay with me?” Karen pouted. Niall giggled and hid his face in Louis’ neck. 

“No, he’s coming home to cuddle and watch movies with papa, yeah?” Louis smiled down at Niall who nodded with a bright smile. 

“Now I’m sad Niall,” Karen pouted and pretended to cry. Niall reached forward in Louis’ arms and gave her a hug before quickly grabbing onto Louis again. “Aww, thanks Niall,” she smiled, pinching his cheek. “Will I see you again soon?” She asked and Niall nodded with a smile. 

“I’m sure we’ll be back,” Louis smiled as he picked up Niall’s bag. 

“Okay, I’ll be home later, I love you guys,” Liam gave each of them a quick kiss before Louis took Niall to the car and drove him home. The whole way home Niall sang along to every song on the radio, lisping most words and sounding absolutely adorable. 

When they arrived home, Louis got Niall all wrapped up in a duvet on the couch with another bottle of milk and some popcorn. He put on a movie for Niall and took a seat in the armchair next to Niall, reclining it and putting his feet up. 

During the movie Louis sat on his phone scrolling through emails, Facebook and twitter aimlessly. Niall sat sucking on his bottle, his eyes glued to the telly. As soon as Niall had finished his bottle, he realised he needed to go potty. The bad potty. He was about to go but he remember his daddy wasn’t home. Who would change him if daddy wasn’t here? Louis wasn’t allowed to change him. 

“Daddy home soon?” Niall asked Louis hopefully. 

“He’s going for some drinks with his family Ni, so I think he’ll be late home,” Louis informed Niall who sighed quietly, biting down on his finger. Niall knew he wasn’t going to be able to hold it so he proceeded with the inevitable and filled his nappy. He lifted his bum off the couch as he did, sitting down once he was done. he made sure to be quiet because he didn’t want Louis knowing. He wanted to wait to be changed until daddy came home. 

When the movie was over, Louis turned to Niall, querying if he was ready for bed. Niall nodded, allowing Louis to pick him up. Louis immediately sniffed the air before glancing down at Niall in his arms. “Did you do a poo, Niall?” Louis raised an eyebrow at Niall who immediately shook his head, inquiring he hadn’t even though it was pretty evident he had. “Niall, I can smell that you did, let’s go get changed,” Louis headed for the door but Niall immediately began to scream in Louis’ arms. 

“No!” He yelled and kicked his legs, managing to kick Louis right in the crotch. Louis let Niall’s body drop and he immediately grabbed his now throbbing crotch as Niall ran off down the hall. 

“Niall! Get back here!” Louis sighed deeply, straightening up again and going after Niall. He was definitely getting Liam to kiss him better later. Niall stood at the bottom of the hall watching Louis in the doorway of the living room, standing with his arms on his hips. “Niall, come on, we need to get you changed,” Louis gestured for Niall to come back but Niall shook his head. “Niall,” Louis warned. “Get back here now, or else.”

“No,” Niall folded his arms and showed Louis a no more than vexed expression. 

“Niall James Horan, I swear to God, get back here,” Louis began to walk towards Niall. As soon as Louis got close Niall ran. Louis groaned, running a hand through his hair. “Niall, come on please be cooperative,” Louis sighed, walking after him. 

“No, wan’ daddy,” Niall folded his arms. 

“I know you do but daddy isn’t here so I’m going to have to do,” Louis walked over and quickly scooped up Niall who began to scream, kicking his legs again. 

“Papa no!” He yelled, wriggling in Louis’ arms as much as he could. 

“Niall, I’m just going to change you and get you all nice and clean and then we’re gonna cuddle in bed, wouldn’t you like that?” Louis asked as he carried Niall into the bathroom, being sure to lock the door behind him so Niall couldn’t run again. 

“No!” Niall screamed and as soon as he was set down on the changing mat, he stood up and ran for the door. He attempted to open it but began to panic when he couldn’t, glancing around anxiously. 

“Niall, lie down, I promise we’re just getting you nice and clean, doesn’t that sound nice?” Louis asked, patting the mat again. Niall shook his head, tears running down his cheeks as he kept trying to open the door, sliding down it then in tears when he couldn’t open it. “Niall please, come on,” Louis sighed. He glanced around the room and then his eyes hit the washing basket. He quickly walked over and got one of Liam’s shirts from inside it. He came over and handed it to Niall who held it to his chest before burying his face in it when he received Liam’s scent. 

“Daddy,” he mumbled into the shirt, closing his eyes. Louis gently lifted him and laid him down on the changing mat, all the while Niall basically suffocated himself with Liam’s shirt. Louis got a little anxious as he prepared himself to open Niall’s nappy. He hadn’t changed one of Niall’s dirty ones yet so it made him rather anxious. 

He opened Niall’s nappy and pulled it from under his bum, beginning to wipe his butt with the wipes. He held his breath as he did this, the smell and sight was making him feel nauseous. 

Niall’s eyes opened and he stared at Louis with wide eyes. He thought daddy was here but it was papa. He suddenly felt angst bubble in the pit of his stomach. He felt ill, very ill. All he wanted was his daddy right now but his daddy wasn’t here. “Fuck off!” Niall yelled then, kicking his legs which made Louis jump. He wasn’t expecting that. 

“Niall James Horan, we do not use that kind of language,” Louis sternly said as Niall sat up on the mat, Liam’s shirt still being clutched tightly. 

“Fuck off!” He yelled again, standing up and running to the door. 

“Oh yeah, you better go to the door because you are going straight to the naughty step for using language like that,” Louis grabbed Niall by the forearm and led him down the stairs. Niall began to cry loudly. “Wait until daddy hears what you said, he won’t be very happy, Niall,” Louis yelled and Niall immediately covered his ears with his hands. He sat Niall on the step before leaving him. 

Niall sat staring at the wall with tears running down his cheeks silently. He knew the words he used were bad words, but in the moment he didn’t know how else to express to Louis he felt scared. He knew he was a bad boy for using them. 

“Sowry papa,” Niall began to cry loudly from the step. “Papa, please,” he cried when Louis was ignoring him. All he wanted right now was to be cuddled and to be told that everything was going to be okay. When Louis ignored Niall, Niall just cried harder. He stared at the ground as his body began to tremble. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was cold with nothing on but his pyjama top or because he was just so scared right now. 

“Papa,” he whimpered quietly, staring at his toes which were curled inwards to his body just like his knees were soon drawn to his chest and he began rocking over and back. “Papa,” he whimpered over and over again. 

Louis was in the kitchen texting Liam when he heard Niall whimpering papa over and over. He suddenly felt pretty guilty and threw his phone on the counter, running to the hall where he knew Niall was. 

“Papa,” Niall cried, holding his hands out to Louis. “Papa, sowry,” he cried, tears streaming down his face. Louis immediately felt extremely guilty for yelling at Niall. He knows how much that scares him, yet he continued to do it. 

“No, Niall I’m sorry I shouldn’t have yelled,” Louis scooped Niall up and cringed when he found Niall’s bottom wet. His eyes widened when he realised Niall had wet himself on the step. Is that how much he scared him or did Niall just not know he was going? 

“Papa,” Niall cried into Louis’ shoulder, wrapping his arms around his neck.

“Shh Ni, I’ve got you now,” Louis hushed Niall, carrying him upstairs to the bathroom. He set Niall in the shower which had Niall bouncing on his feet and holding his hands out to be picked up again. Louis quickly rinsed the urine off Niall’s legs all the while he screamed and stomped his feet. As soon as Niall was done he picked him up and swaddled his lower half in a towel. He dried Niall and soon had him in a nappy and pyjama bottoms. 

Louis tucked Niall into his and Liam’s bed, kissing Niall’s forehead and telling him he’d be up in a little while. Niall settled down, sucking on his dummy contently as he waited for Louis to join him. Being in their bed made him feel comforted, he could smell both daddy and papa and it was cosy. 

Meanwhile, Liam and his family were toasting a drink to his sister for her birthday. He took a sip of his beer just as his phone began to ring in his pocket. He thought it was Louis so he pulled it out of his pocket, only to find it was a withheld number. He hated withheld numbers with a passion. Do you answer? Do you not? 

“I’m going to take this, I’ll be back in a minute,” Liam said, quickly leaving the bar area and going to the reception of the hotel they were in. He pressed the phone to his ear, his heart palpitation as he did. God, he hated withheld numbers. “Hello,” he said. Silence. He was about to hang up, thinking someone was prank calling him when he finally heard a voice on the other end. 

“Liam?” The voice asked. It was a deep voice. most evidently a man. The voice was a little husky, indicating it was a slightly elder man. 

“Who’s asking?” Liam avoided the question. 

“I want to see Niall,” he said and Liam’s heart began to pump faster- if that was even possible. 

“Niall?” Liam questioned, raising an eyebrow. “Look if you’re some fan’s father who’s got my number and you’re-“ 

“I’m not,” the voice firmly stated 

“Then who are you?” Liam asked, growing rather agitated. 

“I’m Niall’s father,” he said and Liam’s jaw dropped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii hope you all enjoyed this update! Merry Christmas to you all!! Hope you have a good one! Let me know what you think down below and yeppp! See you next time!!


	13. Chapter 13

“Hi babe, how was your evening?” Louis beamed when he saw Liam walking into the bedroom. Niall had been crying so Louis ended up having to get into bed with him. Louis wasn’t tired though, so he had just been holding a sleeping Niall in one arm and his phone in the other.

“We need to talk,” Liam’s face was pale and his voice was low. Louis sat up, wondering if everything was okay.

“What’s wrong?” Louis questioned, frowning as he watched Liam’s more than unnerving demeanour.

“Just come with me, we need to talk,” Liam walked to the doorway. Louis gently moved NIall’s body off of his and got up from the bed. He followed Liam downstairs to the living room where he watched him pace the floor over and back for a few moments.

“Liam, you’re scaring me, what’s wrong? Do your family not accept our family?” Louis asked and then felt his cheeks reddening when he realised what he had said _‘our family’._

‘It- it’s Niall. He - his - I,” Liam stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

“Niall? What’s wrong? I was just in bed with Niall, he’s fine, right?”

“Yeah, but- but-“ he stuttered, running a trembling hand through his hair. “His dad he was, he-“

“Niall’s father? What the fuck happened?!”

“He wants to see Niall, he wants to, I don’t know, I didn’t know what to say or what to do but he’s coming,” Liam glanced to Louis with fear-filled eyes.

“Well he’s not fucking seeing him,” Louis snapped immediately without any hesitation. Louis did not want Niall’s father anywhere near him after he knew how he had treated him. He didn’t care what it took, he wasn’t going to allow his father to see him again, at least while he’s in his headspace. Niall could decide for himself when he came out of it what he wanted to do, but while in Louis’ care, Louis knew he was going to do everything in vain to prevent him any more trauma.

“He’s coming,” Liam almost whispered, his throat dry. “He wants us to meet him in a hotel for lunch.”

“Well, we’re not fucking going,” Louis scowled, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I think we should go,” Liam quietly said.

“I think that’s the worst idea you’ve ever had Liam! Are you insane?”

“But Louis, do you want to make him mad by not going? If we just go and he sees how happy Niall is he’ll probably just go home and not bother us again. But if we aggravate him, god only knows what he’d do to Niall,” Liam spoke quietly. Louis looked outraged, but deep down he knew Liam was speaking some sense, just maybe not a whole lot of it.

…

The day they had arranged to meet Niall’s father, Niall sobbed the whole morning. He sobbed in the bath, during breakfast and as they got him dressed. It was as though he knew something was wrong, or something terrible was about to go wrong.

"Need a nappy change before we go, bud?” Liam questioned, running a hand through Niall’s hair as he cried softly below his feet on the ground, his dummy bobbing precariously in his mouth. Niall shook his head, tears running down his cheeks.

“He does need a change I bet,” Louis knelt down next to Niall, feeling inside his nappy and surely enough he was soaked. “Yep,” Louis sighed as he took a stance.

“Ni, why don’t you tell us you need a change anymore?” Liam sighed as he lay Niall down. Niall just shrugged, sniffling behind his dummy. “You gotta tell us, we can’t be having you getting rashes.”

“I be sure to check him regularly so he’s okay,” Louis said patting Liam’s back as he pulled down Niall’s trousers. “You just gotta check and not ask because he says he doesn’t need a change even if he does.”

“You gotta tell us when you need a change, Ni,” Liam said as he opened the tabs on Niall’s nappy and let it fall open. Niall looked to Liam with big, watering eyes, sucking on his fingers.

“Wee,” he said behind his fingers.

“Yeah, you gotta tell us when you go wee,” Liam nodded as he pulled the nappy out from under Niall’s bum and grabbed some wipes. Niall wriggled around on the mat for a few seconds before stilling and soon Liam felt wetness on his chest. He looked down to Niall and surely enough, there was a golden stream spurting in the air. Liam looked with wide eyes as he watched Niall’s stream tamper and then he was dribbling on the mat.

“Well, he did tell you that time,” Louis was laughing from behind Liam. Liam glared at him before glancing at Niall who was giggling behind his fingers at Louis who secretly gave him a thumbs up from behind, or so tried.   
  
“I saw that,” Liam snapped, picking up Niall from the mat where a small puddle had formed.

“Sorwy,” Niall giggled from behind his fingers, not seeming all that repentant. All Liam could do was join in with the boys and laugh as well.

“It’s okay, just please never do that again,” Liam said as he handed Niall over to Louis to nappy him again. Louis put a nappy on Niall and redressed him while Liam went and changed. When he came back downstairs, they made their way to the car, the two older boys feeling the nerves bubble in the pit of their stomach.

When they arrived, Niall was clinging onto them because the lobby was rather busy. There were people everywhere, seated on couches, sitting around tables and queuing at reception. “Papa,” Niall whimpered, wanting Louis to pick him up. Unlike Liam, Louis held no shame and picked Niall up, allowing him to bury his face in his neck before carrying on. Liam watched him, wishing he had of had it in him to do what Louis just did.

They had barely even entered the restaurant area and Niall was immediately whining. He had spotted his father well before Liam and Louis did. Niall watched with wide, watery eyes as they neared the table, his breathing becoming more rapid. Louis took a seat, holding Niall close to his chest. He glared across the table at Niall’s father as a tear fell down Niall’s cheek. He sat still in Louis’ arms, unable to move or react in any way, shape or form. He was idle, stupefied and more important petrified.

“Hi Niall,” his father said and Niall immediately began to cry loudly, attracting quite a lot of attention in the crowded restaurant.

“Shh, Ni, it’s okay,” Louis whispered to him, rubbing his back gently. Niall shook his head, crying into Louis’ shoulder. Louis sighed deeply, wishing he’d never agreed to bring Niall here. He knew this alone was going to cause trauma for Niall, bringing back all those memories he’d only slowly forgetting. He was going to get up and leave when his dad spoke again.

“Has he been doing okay?” He asked, which surprised both boys.

“Why do you care?” Louis snapped.

“I’m his father,” he said, as though nothing had happened between him and Niall. “Of course I care about my son.”

“Yeah, cared enough about him to have him all black, blue and malnourished when I found him,” Liam snapped, folding his arms across his chest, all the while Niall cried into Louis’ shoulder.

“He looks more malnourished now than he did when you kidnapped him,” Bobby snapped back, not denying the abuse accusation.

“I did not kidnap Niall, I bloody saved him from abuse and we are actually taking very good care of him,” Liam responded, glancing to Niall whose body was trembling in Louis’ arms.

“I hope you’re not treating him like a baby,” Bobby rolled his eyes.

“What’s wrong with that?” Liam raised an eyebrow at him as Louis tried to hush Niall. Bobby was just about to respond when the waiter came to take their order. Everyone ordered, nobody speaking to one another while the waiter was at the table but as soon as he left Bobby spoke again.

“Niall will never come out of the headspace if you treat him like a baby. We’ve dealt with it before and when he realises he isn’t going to be treated like a baby he snaps out of it,” Bobby insisted but neither of the boys were having it. They couldn’t believe how ignorant Niall’s father was being. He of all people should know how Niall needs care and attention to get better. This isn’t a tantrum Niall is showing, it’s a condition which affects him mentally and he just needs to be cared for and made feel safe, which Bobby was certainly not capable of.

“You can’t do that to him when he’s so sensitive. It’s a serious thing, he didn’t just slip into his headspace for the craic, he obviously had a lot going on and couldn’t deal with it,” Louis responded sharply, getting a little aggravated at Bobby by now.

“You’ve gotta treat him like an adult for him to act like one.”

“You abusing him was not treating him like an adult, it probably just pushed him further into his headspace,” Liam snapped and Bobby went silent.

“Look, I’m sorry. I know I messed up but I wanna make it up to Niall, I feel so bad for everything I’ve done to him. I was just trying to help him get out of his headspace and you know how hard he can be. I was just trying to help but I made it worse,” Bobby sighed, running a hand through his hair. Liam almost felt sorry for him. _Almost._

“This doesn’t change the fact you abused Niall,” Louis said, holding Niall’s trembling frame to his. “Look at him, he’s trembling and can hardly breathe,” Louis pointed out.

“I know. I know I really fucked up, I know I did. He’s my little boy and I was just so stressed, I wanted him to get better and we all make mistakes when we’re stressed.”

“Well, I personally don’t abuse people when I’m stressed,” Liam snapped as Louis rubbed Niall’s back gently, attempting to soothe him.

“We all make mistakes, I just want to make it up to Niall,” he said, gesturing to Niall.

“I think you can make it up to him by leaving us alone and not contacting us ever again, or at least while he’s in this headspace,” Louis firmly replied.

“But he’s my son.”

“Right now, he’s ours,” Louis said which had Liam’s head snapping in his direction. As much as he wanted to deny it he knew he couldn’t. They’d been treating Niall as though he’s their son and, to be honest, they were both growing very attached.

“Niall can decide for himself when he’s out of the headspace if he wants to be a part of your life, but for the time being, we’re making all the decisions for him and either way, it’s pretty clear he doesn’t want to be anywhere near you,” Liam told Niall’s father who glanced to a sobbing Niall.

“Okay, I’ll make it up to him when he’s better,” Bobby nodded, glancing down at his fingers which were tugging at his nails on the opposite hand.

“Wan’ go home,” Niall cried into Louis’ shoulder as he rubbed his back.

“We’ll go home after we have something to eat,” Louis told him, burying his face in Niall’s hair. He just wished he could take him home now because he couldn’t even begin to think how Niall was feeling right now but as Liam said, once Bobby would see how the boys are taking good care of Niall, he’s more likely to leave them alone.

When the food came, silence fell upon the table, other than Niall whining because he was refusing to eat anything. He felt ill with nerves, he couldn’t stomach any food. “How did you know we took Niall?” Liam asked, breaking the strained silence.

“i saw you leaving with him,” Bobby chuckled, as though he didn’t even care someone had taken his son.

“And you didn’t care?” Liam dropped his fork to the plate, resulting in Niall jumping at the crash as they collided.

“Well, by that time I was pretty stressed and done and when I saw it was you I knew he wasn’t in any danger,” Bobby spoke and Liam shook his head in disbelief. He honestly didn’t even want to speak to him anymore. “I knew I wasn’t able to take proper care of him so when I saw you take him I knew you would be able to do the things for him I wasn’t able to,” he said and Liam almost forgave him. _Almost_.

“Wan’ mimi,” Niall glanced up at Louis with watering eyes.

“I can’t make up a bottle for you here, Ni,” Louis rubbed his thighs gently before kissing the top of his head.

“Here, give me the bottle and I’ll get someone to make it for him,” Bobby offered, holding out his hand. Louis sceptically looked at him but decided it was safe if he wasn’t making it. He handed Bobby a bottle filled with the formula powder and Bobby stood up, going to find someone to make the formula.

He waited outside the kitchen while someone made it and once he had it, he glanced around being sure nobody was watching before unscrewing the cap. He reached inside his pocket and took out two white pills which almost glistened in the light. He slipped them inside the bottle before screwing on the cap and giving the bottle a good shake. He walked back to the table and smiled as he handed Niall the bottle but Niall wouldn’t take it. “Here,” he offered again but Niall just glared at him.

Louis took it from Bobby and handed it to Niall who just stared at Bobby for a few more seconds before beginning to suck on the bottle. Bobby glanced down at his lap and smirked as Niall did this, although he quickly erased that smile from his face and continued to eat his food.

“You know, I just wanna thank you guys for taking such good care of Niall,” Bobby said, watching Niall whose eyelids were drooping closed as he sucked on the bottle. Every few seconds he would force them open but they would slowly close again. “I could never do what you’re doing, you guys are amazing,” Bobby smiled.

“Thanks,” Liam dryly replied as Louis got up.

“I must hit the loo before we go,” he said to Liam, handing Niall over.

“Oh, I need to go too,” Liam said, handing Niall back.

“Leave him here, I’ll keep an eye on him,” Bobby smiled.

“No,” Liam and Louis both simultaneously said.

“Take him, he probably needs a change,” Liam said and Bobby scrunched his nose up. He looked as though he was going to critique them but he kept his mouth shut. The three went into a family bathroom and so Louis changed Niall whilst Liam used the toilet. Liam then took to redressing Niall whilst Louis then used it.

“You’re looking tired, bud,” Liam knelt down next to Niall who’s lying on the changing mat chewing on his fingers. He pulled Niall’s jeans up and then attempting to stand the boy up but his legs were weak as water beneath him. Liam frowned as he picked his limp body up again. “You feeling okay?” Liam asked Niall when his head fell against his shoulder. Niall wanted to tell him he didn’t, that the room was spinning, he felt ill and didn’t think he could fight the sleep any longer but no words came out.

“I think he just needs his nap, he hasn’t had one today,” Louis said, packing up Niall’s things. Liam nodded, although couldn’t help but feel as though something was wrong. He shook the feeling off and returned to the table where Bobby was still sat at.

Liam set Niall on one of the chairs as he dug in his pocket for the wallet to go pay the bill. Once he found it he walked to the cash register with the bill to pay. Louis immediately followed. “Hey, I have the bill,” Louis said, getting out his own wallet.

“No, I’m paying today,” Liam said before asking for their bill and leaving Bobby to pay for his own.

“No, I’ve got it Liam, let me,” Louis argued, trying to take the slip from Liam’s hand whose grip only tightened on it. “If you let me pay we can have a bubble bath together later tonight when Niall goes to bed,” Louis whispered with a smirk and Liam suddenly let go of the slip. Louis smirked again, boyish and predictable before paying for their meals while Liam went back to the table.

Louis wasn’t far behind him but when the two boys reached the table their eyes widened. “Where’s bobby?” Liam questioned, sweat beginning to accumulate on his forehead.

“More important, where’s Niall?!” Louis exclaimed as he glanced at the empty chair where Niall was once seated, only his blue dummy with the spaceship and his scruffy teddy left sitting on it now.

  
Liam glanced around with wide eyes but in this extremely busy hotel, people were going to and fro, finding Niall in these crowds of people would not be easy.   
…

“Where the fuck is he?” A panicked Liam was running around the hotel.

“Liam, he’s obviously been taken by Bobby, he was sleepy as it was, he’s not running around anywhere,” Louis said, his face buried between his knees.

“He has to be here somewhere,” Liam felt his throat go dry.

“Liam! Give up! He’s gone, Bobby’s fucking car is gone and Niall wouldn’t wander off on his own like that and if he did, he would be crying somewhere and they would have brought his back by now. Face it, Bobby has taken him,” he sighed deeply.

“I’m phoning the police then,” Liam said, taking out his phone.

“Come on, let’s just go to the station,” Louis picked up his jacket before walking to the front door of the hotel. He cursed himself for ever leaving Niall at that table on his own. Had he not gone after Liam, Niall would have been in his arms right now. He dreaded to think what Niall was going through and how scared he was. He didn’t even want to think about what that sick cunt would do to him, all he knew was that he had to get Niall home. Soon.

When they arrived at the police station, Liam hurried in ahead of Louis, demanding to speak to someone immediately.

“Please take a seat, we’ll be with you in a moment,” the woman said in a monotone voice.

“This is serious! I need to speak to someone immediately,” Liam exclaimed.

“Sir, take a seat, it’ll only be a few minutes,” the lady didn’t even look up from the magazine she was reading. Liam huffed but took a seat, his foot tapping anxiously against the floor as he waited. Soon, a police officer came and beckoned Liam and Louis to follow him into an office.

“Would you like to report something?” He questioned and Liam immediately nodded.

“Yes, our…” he didn’t know what to refer Niall as. He wasn’t their son but he wasn’t just their friend. He was more a son than anything. “Our son went missing,” Liam said and the police officer raised an eyebrow at Liam.

“Okay, how old is he?”

“Twenty-three,” Liam said and the police officer gave Liam a look as though he was absurd.

“You have a twenty-three-year-old son?” The police officer patronisingly questioned. “How old are you, sir? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“This is not the point,” Liam snapped while Louis just put his face in his hands.

“Okay, do you know where he went missing?”

“Yes! Someone abducted him,” Liam insisted.

“Do you know who?”

“Yes! His father,” Liam said and then soon realised how stupid he sounded.

“You’re telling me, your twenty-three-year-old son was abducted by his own father?” The police officer questioned, looking as though he was trying not to laugh.

“Look, I know you think we’re crazy but he has a mental disorder and he-“

“I think I’ve heard quite enough,” the police officer chuckled. “Look, okay I’m here to help, not judge, when did he go missing?”

“About twenty minutes ago,” Liam responded.

“Okay, well this doesn’t become a missing persons case until the person has been missing for twenty-four hours, have you even checked under the bed?”

“This is not funny! This is serious. Look, he can’t look after himself and his father has been abusing him and now he’s taken him back and I’m scared of what he’s going to do to him and Niall won’t be able to stop him,” Liam said all in one breath.

“Look, I can’t do anything officially until he has been missing for twenty-four hours so come back to me then if he’s still missing and I’ll see what I’m able to do for you,” he said, standing up and gesturing for the boys to leave the room. “In the meantime, check under the beds,” the police officer chuckled. Louis had to stop himself from punching this man at how indignant he was being. He was honestly so unprofessional but Louis didn’t want to get time for assaulting a police officer. He needed to be here to find Niall.

“Fuck sake, that was a waste of fucking time,” Liam snapped as they got into the car.

“Looks like we’re going to have to go find him ourselves,” Louis glanced over at Liam who nodded.

“Looks like we are,” he sighed quietly. “But I’m not giving up until we find him.”

“Where do you think he is?”

“Right now, probably in a hotel somewhere but tomorrow I’d say they’ll be at Bobby’s house,” Liam responded.

“Then we’re going,” Louis confirmed as he put the keys into the ignition. “I don’t give a fuck what we have to do to get him, he’s coming home.”

“But Bobby is technically Niall’s father, so is it even legal or?”

“Well abuse is definitely not legal and that’s exactly what Niall is going back to,” Louis reminded Liam who nodded with a sigh.

“He said we were much better at taking care of him than he ever was, why the fuck would he take him again?” Liam groaned as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Because he was only trying to butter us up, to get us to like him and trust him. Well, it didn’t fucking work but I was an idiot who left Niall on his own and had I of been there he’d still be here,” Louis felt his eyes water, feeling as though he was completely responsible for this happening.

“No, Louis it’s not your fault. Look, had he not done it then, he would have got him at some other point, it’s not-“

“Liam give it up. Be mad at me, yell at me or something! I deserve it because it’s my fault Niall is probably being fucking abused right now,” a tear ran down Louis’ cheek as he spoke. “I’ll never forgive myself if he’s hurt,” Louis whispered.

“Louis, shut up,” Liam snapped which took Louis by surprise. “We are going to find Niall and bring him home, aren’t we?” He questioned and Louis nodded. “Right, stop moping around then and let’s do something to try help him!” Liam said “We should check every hotel in the area and see if any of them have seen them,” Liam suggested and Louis nodded, although he still looked a little saddened.

“Good idea and if we don’t find him, we’ll just go tomorrow and find them,” Louis said. “I can’t wait to give Bobby the beating he deserves,” Louis grumbled as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“Louis,” Liam warned. “As long as we get Niall, there’ll be no fighting.”

“I’m not making any promises. The bastard deserves it and so much more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guya! I know this chapter wasn't very long but I didn't want to make it any longer! Seeing as it is so short, I'll most certainly be updating again during the week! Keep your eyes open for an update on Wednesday! 
> 
> Btw, happy new year everyone! I hope it's a good one for you all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did please leave a lil comment/suggestion! Love you all lots, A Xx.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't edited this so if there's typo's I'm really sorry! I'll edit soon!

Niall opened his eyes slowly, screwing them shut when the bright light hurt them. He opened them again and allowed his eyes to adjust to the light and focus. He couldn’t remember anything that had occurred and he had no clue where he was. He soon realised he was staring at a ceiling, an all too familar one.

He sat up and looked around but immediately fell back down because he was dizzy. He knew exactly where he was, he didn’t need anything or anyone to confirm it. All he wanted to do was close his eyes and be back at home with his daddy and his papa, not here. This was certainly not what he would call home.

Tears began spilling down his cheeks and he began to whimper for daddy and papa. Soon, the bright light that was shining in his eyes went dark when something towered between him and the light. “Come on Niall, we’re gonna get you better,” his father said, helping Niall to sit up.

“No!” Niall began sobbing, his body trembling as Bobby got him to his feet.

“Niall, I’m just trying to help you, we;re gonna have something to eat now, yeah?”

“No, wan’ go home,” Niall cried, going limp in Bobby’s arms. He was too weak to stand up on his own right now. Bobby wasn’t prepared for the extra weight and so Niall was dropped to the ground with a thud. He didn’t even cry when he hit the ground, he was scared if he did, Bobby would hit him harder.

“You are home,” Bobby insisted, grabbed Niall and dragging him to the kitchen. He sat Niall on one of the chairs at the table in front of a plate of sandwiches. Niall was never a fan of sandwiches, he never understood why everyone just loves putting random foods between bread. Niall used his index finger and pushed the plate to the centre of the table. He just wished he could be with daddy and papa right now so he could have mimi.

“Mimi,” Niall whimpered as Bobby pushed the plate back in front of him.

“Niall, you’re an adult, speak like one,” Bobby firmly said. “Now eat your sandwiches like a good boy and then you can have a bath before bed,” he said but Niall was not compliant. He felt ill to begin with so he didn’t want to force himself to eat because he knew he’d be sick.

Niall shook his head, tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. “Niall, if you don’t eat it, I’m sending you to your room for the night,” his dad threatened. Niall knew what this meant. Being sent to his room consisted of Niall being locked in his room for an unspecified amount of time. It could be two hours, or it could be two days, just depending on how his father felt that day.

“Da no, please,” Niall whimpered, a tear rolling down his cheek. His father immediately slapped Niall’s cheek. Hard. Niall didn’t react, not even a flinch.

“We’re men Niall, we don’t cry. Got it?” He asked Niall who nodded. “We’re men, you’re a man Niall,” his dad told him as Niall stared at the wall. “What are you Niall?”

“Scared,” Niall whimpered. Another slap.

“What are you Niall?” His father repeated the questioned which had Niall feeling rather overwhelmed. “What are you Niall?” His father yelled which made Niall cover his ears and grumble ‘man’ very quietly. “Now eat up your food,” his father demanded and even though Niall didn’t want to, he immediately picked up a sandwich and began nibbling on it.

As he ate, he felt as though someone was pressing down on his chest, preventing him from breathing. Soon, he was struggling to take in air but continued to bite on the sandwiches in fear of being hit again or yelled at. One thing about Niall’s father was that he was able to get the boy to eat, just maybe not with the best method.

“Come on boy, finish those sandwiches, we need to fatten you up again,” his father said as Niall felt his vision blurring a little. He looked up to his father as the sandwich fell from his hand. Before Niall even knew it, the milk he had consumed before as well as the sandwiches he had just eaten all came up again. The last thing he remembered before he passed out was his father yelling and he felt something painful in his stomach area.

…

“Come on, he has to be in this last one,” Liam sighed as the two headed into the last hotel in town that they hadn’t checked. Walking inside, they both glanced around for any signs of either Niall or his father. They then walked up to reception and gave the same description of the two they had been giving to every hotel.

“No, sorry there was nobody like that here today,” the lady shook her head. Liam groaned and turned around to Louis, feeling rather hopeless. Neither of them knew what to do now. They knew they needed to find Niall but it was one thing wanting to and actually knowing how to.

“Let’s go to the airport now,” Louis said to Liam who nodded. “We’re going to find him, we fucking have to,” he said. They both ran back to the car and drove straight to the airport, not even packing any bags for themselves. The only bag they had with them was Niall’s diaper bag they had brought to the hotel with them. All that was on their minds was finding Niall.

When they arrived at the airport, they ran to reception int he hopes of getting a flight right away. “We need a fight to Dublin, like as soon as you can give us,” Liam said, out of breath as he reached the desk.

The lady nodded and then began to type on her computer before glancing up at Liam. “The next flight with available seats is tomorrow night” she said and both Liam and Louis’ heart dropped.

“No, you don’t understand, We need a flight, like now and it’s serious. We need to get to Ireland as soon as we possibly can,” Liam snapped and the lady sighed deeply, looking as though he had dealt with people like Liam almost very day.

“Sir, there is nothing I can do other than book you on the flight for tomorrow night,” she sighed, running a hand through her hair.

“When did the last flight depart?” Liam asked, wondering if Niall could have been on that one.

“About two hours ago, sir,” she responded.

“and did you see if this man and-“

“Sir, I can’t tell you anybody that was on that flight but if you want me to book you on tomorrow’s flight then please tell me,” she sighed.

“I need one before then!” Liam exclaimed. “This is important, you don’t understand.”

“Okay, you can go take a seat and wait, somebody might not turn up for one of the flights or someone may cancel, you can wait, if you want,” she pointed to the waiting area. Liam nodded frantically and thanked her before going to take a seat. Louis took one next to him, taking Liam’s hand in his. He brought his hand up to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of it.

“We’ll find him, I promise,” Louis whispered.

…

When Niall woke up, he was in a dark room. He immediately sat up, grabbing his tummy when he did. He knew this pain all too well. His father had evidently punched him in the stomach. Hard.

He was just properly waking up when his father stormed into the room. “Niall, your bath is ready, come on,” his father grabbed him under his arms and physically dragged Niall’s body to the bathroom. Once there he demanded Niall strip, which he did. When he got to his nappy which was almost leaking by this point, his father immediately threw it in the bin, slapping his face before he did.

“You’re a man Niall, men don’t wear nappies, okay?” he asked and Niall nodded timidly, not wanting to disobey and make him angrier. Much to Niall’s surprise, his father lifted him into the tub, which was a relief to Niall because he never would have gotten in without help. Daddy or papa always lift him in and out. He wished one of them was here right now, papa to give him extra bubbles and daddy to play the colouring game with him. He felt a little sad as he thought about them.

“Right clean yourself now,” his father left Niall on his own. Niall didn’t quite know what to do if he was being honest. His daddy always did everything for him, he washed his hair for Niall, his body, everything! Niall didn’t know how to do it on his own. He felt a little overwhelmed he was expected to do it on his own.

Niall sat in the bathtub shivering. The water was cold because his da always left Niall with his dirty bathwater. He never ran a bath just for Niall, Niall always had one when his da was done. They didn’t have a shower and Niall couldn’t run the bath himself so he had no choice.

He just ran his fingers through the dull, cloudy water solemnly. Bath time wasn’t fun without bubbles and games. As he sat shivering in the cold water, a tear ran down Niall’s cheek. All he wanted was to be home in his crib, cuddling his teddy. Oh, how he missed his teddy so much. He quickly wiped his eye before his da returned. He didn’t want another slap, or punch.

He was sitting in the bath for quite a while when he realised he was peeing. He only realised because the water between his legs actually grew warm. He was going to stop but then realised the water was contaminated enough as it was, pee wasn’t going to do much else it. As disgusting as it was he was grateful for the heat it provided in the water in the freezing room, but it quickly grew cold again.

His da came in after what felt like an eternity for Niall. “My God, you’re useless, can you not even get yourself out of the bath?!” His father yelled as he came over and scooped Niall out of the bath. He basically dropped Niall to the floor with a thud. Niall slipped on the tiles when his bum hit them and he fell backwards onto his back, hitting his head against the wall as he did. He didn’t shed a tear though.

“Get dressed,” his father threw clothes at him but Niall just stared at him blankly. His daddy or papa always dressed him, he didn’t know where everything went. “Oh my God, do I have to do everything for you?” His father asked as he grabbed Niall harshly around the forearm and stood him up. “Feet in,” his father snapped as he held open Niall’s boxers. Niall got one leg in but then slipped getting the second leg in and fell on top of his father. His father immediately shoved him off of him, ending in Niall colliding quite harshly with the wall.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” His father yelled and then purposely stood on Niall’s ankle. Niall’s eyes widened before he screwed his face up in pain as his father held his foot there. He finally let it go and Niall breathed a sigh of relief. “Ow,” he quietly whined because his back and ankle were hurting considerably after that.

“You are absolutely fucking useless,” his dad yelled before quickly dressing Niall and sending him to his room again. “Don’t fucking come out of there again tonight,” he yelled. Niall limped into the room and crawled over to the corner Liam had found him in. He sat in it and brought his knees up to his chest, pressing his face between  
them as he heard the door being locked.

Niall cried quietly into his knees, being sure his father wouldn’t hear him. He just missed his daddy and papa so, so much right now. He would do anything to be back home with them and not here with his father.

A few hours later Niall was still in the same spot. He could hear men’s voices downstairs and he knew his father had invited people over to drink. He was just glad his room door was locked because drunk people scared Niall, especially when they came into his room.

He crawled over to his bed, pulling himself up on it. He wrapped his duvet around his body, ignoring the fact it smelled. Niall doubted it had been washed since he’d left and Niall had wet this bed many times.

The voices from downstairs were scaring Niall, he hated loud voices. His body was trembling beneath his duvet which was now sodden in tears. Niall’s body jolted when he heard the key being turned in his door. He sat up straight and waited in anticipation to see who it was. All his hopes were that it was daddy or papa. Sadly, this was not the case.

In stumbled a drunk man, black hair with grey streaks, sporting a beer belly. In his hand, he held a bottle of water. “Your da told me to take this up to you,” he said, coming into the room and closing the door behind him. Niall watched with wide eyes, wondering why he was shutting the door behind him.

“Here’s your water,” the man showed Niall his smile. He had yellow, wonky teeth and his breath stank of alcohol. Niall just wanted this man to leave, immediately. Niall took the bottle and stared at the man as he sat down on the edge of his bed. “Your Da was telling me he’s trying to get you to grow up and act like an adult again,” the man moved closer to Niall, his breath hot against his neck. “I think I can help,” he whispered and Niall shook his head. His body began to tremble as this man got on top of him, he didn’t know what he was going to do but he was fucking scared shitless and all he wished for in that moment was his daddy and papa.

“No,” Niall cried as the man pulled down his trousers. He didn’t have a nappy on, so he didn’t need a change, why was this man pulling down his trousers? Niall didn’t understand.

“Shh, be quiet,” the man pressed the palm of his hand over Niall’s mouth. Niall noticed how sweaty and how this man’s hand stank of cheese and onion crisps. It made him want to puke in his hand. “If you struggle, your da will be mad,” the man said and suddenly Niall stilled. When the man noticed he had this advantage over Niall, he smirked. “Don’t make your da angry, be a good boy Niall,” the man whispered into Niall’s ear as he pulled down Niall’s boxers.

Niall glanced at him with wide eyes and finally the man removed his hand from Niall’s mouth. Niall attempted to regain his breath again, which he found almost unattainable. Niall didn’t scream though, he could have but he didn’t. He didn’t scream when this strange man touched his willy. He didn’t touch it like daddy or papa do when they change Niall or wash him, he did it in a way that scared Niall, unnerved him.

“No,” Niall whined, trying to push his hands away. When he did, the man retaliated by punching Niall in the side. Niall let out a small whimper of pain and screwed his eyes shut, just wishing for this all to be over.

“Shh, don’t struggle or I’ll get your da on you,” the man huskily whispered into Niall’s ear. Niall felt tears rolling down his cheeks but he acted as though they weren’t there just because he didn’t want to get a beating.

Niall wanted to scream, he wanted to scream so badly, when this man did something with his willy and Niall’s bum which Niall knew wasn’t right. Niall didn’t understand what it was, all he knew was it hurt but if he struggled, it would only hurt even more. He wanted to scream, but even if he had of tried, he wouldn’t have been able to.

…

“Come on, come on,” Liam sighed as he paced the airport. They had been here all night and it was now six in the morning. A flight was leaving at six thirty and he was hoping he or Louis, preferably both would be able to get on it.

“Sir,” the lady called from reception. Liam never ran so fast in his life. “Two seats have become available on the flight so you two can come and get on it now, if you’d like,” she smiled.

“Yes, yes! Come on!” He yelled to Louis, grabbing his hand. The two ran through check-in and security before running to where they were going to board the plane. People were just beginning to board once they arrived and they’d both never been so relieved to be sitting on a plane in their entire life.

…

“This the house?” The police officer asked the boys who both nodded from the back of the car. Turns out Irish policemen are a lot more willing to help than British ones. They immediately agreed to take the boys to the house to retrieve Niall. They were extremely understanding about the situation and were more than willing to help get Niall.

“Okay, we want you boys to stay here, we will get Niall and bring him to you,” one of them said before they both got out of the careened began walking up the driveway. The driveway was covered in leaves and mud, looking as though nobody had cleaned it in years. The two men knocked on the door and after a few moments, Bobby’s face appeared behind it. His eyes widened when he saw what he was met with and his eyes immediately averted to the squad car to where the two boys were sitting.

“Ye auld bastards!” He yelled, going to run for the car but the two men stopped him. One of the men spoke into his radio, calling for backup and the squad car which was parked only a minute away turned up and two more policemen came to pin down Bobby who was trying to get out of the grip. “Let me go you bastards!” He yelled as they pinned him to the ground. One police officer sat on him as he got handcuffs on him. He stood up then and helped Bobby stand. “I didn’t do anything wrong!” He yelled.

“You can prove that to us then,” the man said as two other men went into the house in search of Niall. Liam and Louis immediately got out of the car, not able to wait any longer to see Niall. They ran past Bobby who tried to go for them but his cuffs and the police officer stopped him.

They ran down the hall where the police officer was trying to open the door. “It’s locked,” he muttered to the other one who nodded and then braced himself. The two boys watched in awe as he used his elbow and managed to break the door down.

Inside, everyone hurried inside. They all scrunched their faces at the smell of the room. It smelt like a mixture of damp, alcohol and urine. All eyes fell to Niall who was cowering under the covers, his body trembling considerably.

“Niall!” Liam and Louis both exclaimed. Niall’s eyes shot open and he immediately began to sob loudly, holding out trembling hands to both the boys. He wasn’t crying because he was sad, he was crying because he was so relieved the boys were finally here.

“Daddy, papa,” Niall cried, holding out his hands. The boys went over to pick him up but the police officer stopped them.

“We’ve got him,” he said as his partner pulled back the duvet covers and picked up Niall. When he lifted Niall from the bed, Niall cried out in pain. The sheets, where Niall had been sat were saturated with blood, as were Niall’s sweatpants he was wearing.

“Call an ambulance,” the police officer said to his partner who nodded left the room.

“Oh my God, Niall, are you okay?!” Liam exclaimed, trying to get to Niall who was crying out in pain in this mans arms. He hadn’t moved since it happened last night. His whole body was in pain but especially his back, ankle and stomach and the worst was his bottom.

“Shh, we’ve got you now, I promise you’re going to be okay,” the police officer said to Niall who was sobbing in his arms. Liam and Louis watched with wide eyes, not even wanting to know why Niall was bleeding where he was.

…

  
Liam and Louis stood by looking rather helpless as they got Niall onto a bed. He cried as they put a breathing mask on him, glancing around with wide eyes until he met Louis and Liam’s. “You guys can come,” the nurse gestured for them to follow. They wheeled Niall to a treatment room where they began cutting his clothes open.Their eyes widened when they saw the massive bruise on Niall’s stomach. Niall began screaming when they took off his boxers, his eyes protruding fearfully.

“Niall, we just need to check you, I promise we’re not going to do anything without your permission,” the doctor assured him. He pulled Niall’s boxers from under him. Louis and Liam both gasped and looked away when they saw them completely saturated with blood.

“Maybe you two might want to step out,” the nurse said just as the doctor was about to spread Niall’s legs to inspect. He then noticed Niall’s ankle which was swollen considerably. He wrote something down while Louis stood his ground, not wanting to leave Niall again now.

“No, I want to stay,” he firmly said.

“I think it’s best if you wait outside, you can come back in as soon as the doctor is ready inspecting him,” the nurse said. Louis sighed but decided he didn’t actually want to see what was to come. If Niall was abused in the way Louis was thinking, he honestly wanted to shoot himself.

“If he cries for us, please get us,” Louis said as they left the room. Outside the treatment room were two plastic seats which Liam and Louis both wordlessly took. They gripped one another’s hands tightly, both of them feeling absolutely guilt-ridden. Silence fell between them as they listened to Niall’s cries and screams from inside. Louis wanted to punch himself, he felt as though it was completely his fault Niall was in this state.

After what felt like a lot longer for them than it indeed was, they were called back into the treatment room. They glanced to Niall who was now wrapped up in some blankets, the breathing mask on with his eyes closed.

“Niall, are you okay?” Liam ran over to him and gently kissed his forehead. Niall sleepily opened his eyes and smiled behind the mask at Liam, mumbling “daddy” very quietly.

“Oh Niall, we’re so sorry,” Louis came over and gave Niall a kiss too. Niall was just smiling at the boys with half lidded eyes, more than relieved to just see their faces again. They both sat down on the edge of Niall’s bed and took one of his hands, glancing to the doctor who was going through Niall’s notes.

“Is he okay?” Liam asked the doctor.

“He has bruising on his face, back, his stomach, his ankle and most concerning, his head,” the doctor said and Louis and Liam both put a hand over their mouths. “He also has a tear in his rectum which would presume he-“

“We don’t need to know,” Louis cut him off, not actually wanting to hear the words.

“We found some remains of semen in his rectum. Do you know if he had non-consensual intercourse?” the doctor said it in such a way that wasn’t as blunt as just ‘rape’.

“I don’t know but if he was then that man is a sick cunt,” Louis grumbled and glared to Liam who nodded in agreement.

“He won’t talk to us but I know the police are going to want to speak to him soon to know what happened, do you think you’ll be able to get him to talk?” The doctor questioned.

“I don’t know, would we be allowed to be there?” Liam asked.

“If it got him to speak, I’d think so,” the doctor nodded.

“Then yeah, we might be able to get him to talk,” Liam nodded, sighing quietly. He glanced down at Niall and gently ran a hand through his hair. Niall flinched and opened his eyes immediately, his expression softening when he saw it was only Liam. Liam sighed, feeling as though all the trust they had gained over the last few months was gone so quickly.

“Has the bleeding stopped?” Louis asked and the doctor shook his head. “What are you going to do for that?”

“We can’t do much for him, we can give painkillers and try to make him as comfortable as possible but we can’t really stitch up there,” the doctor said as Niall gripped the two boys hands tightly, feeling so relieved to have them here again. He ever wanted to let their hands go. “I mean, you can put stitches there but it means the patient has to be on a diet of complete liquids for the following two or three months and that just wouldn’t be suitable for a grown man,” the doctor said.

“He only has liquids. We got this formula for him from the nurse that comes out to her house and it’s like all his calories and nutrients but in liquid form,” Liam said.

“Oh, well if that is the case we could probably stitch him up if necessary. We’ll leave him for now and see if the bleeding stops and how much pain he’s in and we’ll take it from there,” the doctor smiled and the two boys nodded.

“Can we give him his teddy and dummy?” Liam asked and the doctor nodded. Liam got them and Niall’s face immediately lit up when he saw his teddy which he held to his chest before rubbing it’s matted fur against his bruised cheek.

“Okay well we’ll get him moved to a secluded ward, I think that’s best considering he needs a lot of personal care, yeah?” The doctor asked. He’d read through Niall’s notes on the computer and knew all about his condition.

“Yeah, he does,” Liam nodded, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Niall’s forehead before standing up. “Could i put a nappy on him?” Liam asked, knowing he hadn’t one on when he came here and he was going to need one.

“I put him in one already, he’d wet himself when you left so I assumed he needed it,” the nurse said as they began to get the bed ready to move. Liam nodded and the two boys stood back to allow them to move the bed although they walked beside it to the ward, not leaving Niall’s side.

When they arrived in the room Niall began wriggling on the bed, starting to cry and even behind the breathing mask he was out of breath. “Hey, calm down,” the nurse said before telling the other nurse to get a sedative ready just in case. “What do you want? Tell me,” the nurse took off his breathing mask. He immediately began gasping for air as he scanned the room quickly.

“Papa,” he said when he saw Louis. “Daddy,” he whined, trying to sit up but he fell back down.

“Shh, don’t hurt yourself Niall, what do you want?”

“Cuddles,” he said as tears began rolling down his cheeks.

“I think he just wants to be held,” Liam said, feeling his eyes water. “Can he come out of the bed?”

“Yeah, sit in the armchair and I’ll get him out,” the nurse nodded. Liam took a seat and Louis sat on the arm of it. He cried out when he was lifted but once Niall was in Liam’s arms he calmed down completely. He breathed in Liam’s scent and felt all the fear and panic leave his body. Gripping Liam’s t-shirt in his hand he closed his eyes, completely calm for the first time since he left their arms.

The nurse put away the breathing support then, realising he didn’t need it anymore because his breathing was fine. “Turns out cuddles is the best sedative he can get,” the nurse chuckled, watching Niall fondly.

…

Some time later, Niall was rudely awoke from his snooze in Liam’s arms by a police officer who wanted to speak with him. He looked at the police officer with bright blue eyes watering under the bright lights in the room.

“Hi Niall, you can call me Neil,” he held his hand out to Niall who just continued to stare at him.

“Say hi, Ni,” Louis nudged Niall who begrudgingly mumbled a hi.

“Now, I’m gonna ask you some questions, will you do me a favour and answer them as honestly as you can?” He asked Niall who nodded, holding his teddy tight to his chest while Liam rubbed his back soothingly.

“Is your name Niall?” He asked Niall who nodded into Liam’s chest. “Can you look at me, Niall?” He asked, sighing quietly when Niall shook his head into Liam’s chest. He decided not to push him and if he got comfortable, he’d more than likely look at him. “How old are you?” He asked Niall who held up two fingers. He nodded and his partner wrote something down. “Did someone take you away from Liam and Louis?” he asked Niall.

“Daddy n’ papa,” Niall corrected, lifting his head from Liam’s chest.

“Oh, sorry,” he smiled softly at Niall. “Someone took you from daddy and papa then?” He asked to which Niall nodded. “Who? Do you know?”

“Da,” he said, hiding his face in Liam’s neck again.

“Who’s da?” He asked Niall who just started to cry.

“His father,” Liam said. The police officer asked Niall to confirm this to which Niall nodded.

“Niall, can you tell me how this happened?” the police officer pointed to Niall’s swollen ankle. “Did you fall?” Niall shook his head. “Did someone do it to you?” He asked. A nod. “Who?”

“Da,” he very quietly spoke as though he was going to get given out to for telling someone he did it. The police officer proceeded to ask how it happened but Niall stayed silent. He just glanced around the room fearfully before burying his face in Liam’s chest again. “He stand on it,” Niall very quietly said.

“He stood on it,” Liam repeated to the police officer.

“Do you think it was an accident, Niall?” He asked and Niall immediately shook his head.

“I bad,” he quietly said. “Da hit when I bad,” he mumbled, glancing over at the police officer who asked what exactly he did to be bad. “I sick, i falled on da, I needed helped,” he quietly spoke, looking away from all eyes as he did.

“Why is being sick bad? Or falling? Or needing help?” The police officer asked but Niall just shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t really know either, he just thought he been bad and deserved to be hit. “So is that were all the bruises came from? Whenever you were bad your da would hit you?” he asked and Niall nodded. Liam and Louis both had their heads bows, feeling extremely guilty now. They didn’t even want to hear how Niall’s butt injury came around, they already felt bad enough.

“And how did you get the owie on your bum?” He asked Niall. Liam wrapped his arms tighter around Niall, pressing a kiss to the top of his head in anticipation for what was to come. Niall looked to the police officer, grabbing the front of his gown where his crotch was. He didn’t know how to explain it. “Did someone touch you there?” he asked, gesturing to where Niall was holding. Niall nodded and Louis put his face in his hands while Liam buried his in Niall’s hair. “Did you like it?”

“No,” Niall’s eyes watered, remembering what it felt like to have that mans body so close to his. “I says stop but he no stop,” Niall whimpered, beginning to get a little upset.

“Was it your da Niall?” The police officer asked and Niall shook his head. Liam and Louis both breathed a sigh of relief. “Who was it?” He asked but Niall didn’t know the man. He shrugged his shoulders, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Did you know him?” He asked and Niall shook his head again. “Okay, what did he do after you told him to stop?”

“He putted his willy in n’-n’ owies,” Niall started to cry, getting a little overwhelmed. He didn’t want to think about it again.

“Okay, okay I think you’ve asked him enough,” Louis said, not liking how upset Niall was. “Can you leave him be please? I think he’s been through enough today.”

“Yeah, I was just going to finish up,” he nodded. “I think you’ve told me all I need to know,” he said. “You’ve been very good Niall, thank you,” he squeezed Niall’s hand gently as he stood up. Niall glanced up at him with watery eyes, showing him a shy smile before turning back to Liam.

When the police officer left, Liam just held Niall tight to his chest. “I’m so, so sorry,” he mumbled into Niall’s hair. “I promise nobody will ever take you again,” he felt his eyes fill with tears. “We’re gonna protect you and make sure nobody touches you in any of those ways again.”

“Yes Niall, I'm sorry we let him take you, it was all my fault but we'll make it up to you and never let you out of our sight again," Louis spoke quietly, running a tender hand through Niall's hair. We love you, Ni,” Louis leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Niall’s cheek.

“Love -oo too,” Niall smiled up at Louis, just feeling so much safer back in their arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this even if it was sad :( but at least Niall is back with his daddies, right?! 
> 
> Tell me what you think down below! I love you all so so so much and thank you for even reading this far if you have! See you soon, A X


	15. Chapter 15

Before Niall was released from the hospital, they got in contact with Niall’s doctor and psychologist in England. One, to make sure they would both check up on him and two, to see if Liam and Louis were competent guardians for Niall.

On arrival home, Liam carried Niall inside, setting him down on the couch as gently as he could as he knew how much pain Niall was still in. Niall glanced around with big eyes before sitting back, sucking quietly on his dummy. “You’re home, Niall,” Louis smiled down at him, ruffling his hair. Niall smiled up at Louis behind his dummy, pressing his cheek to the fur of his bear.

Liam was going to suggest Niall have some milk and sweets now but then he recalled the doctor had strictly told them no solids for Niall. Solids would be too hard to pass and may result in further tearing down there for Niall.

“Need a change, bud?” Liam asked, sitting down next to Niall as Louis went to prepare a bottle for him. Niall shook his head but Liam recalled what Louis had said about being sure to check him. He knew Niall needed a change as he hadn’t been changed since the nurse changed him in the hospital, just before they left a number hours ago. Liam felt Niall’s nappy which was indeed wet and sagging between his legs. “You are wet, you little monkey,” Liam tickled Niall’s sides gently. Niall giggled,   
burying his face in Liam’s neck when he picked him up. He brought Niall upstairs, gently laying him on the bed.

He went to Niall’s closet and got some pyjamas, grabbing his changing supplies before coming back over to Niall who was staring at the ceiling, sucking contently on his dummy.

He wasn’t looking forward to changing Niall. The nurse had done it each time while they were in the hospital and each and every time Niall screamed and cried and sobbed. Liam assumed it was because he was in pain so he was dreading hurting Niall.

When he pulled down Niall’s jogger, Niall immediately began whimpering, his eyes beginning to water. “Oh Ni, I promise I’ll be gentle,” Liam furrowed his eyebrows. Once his joggers were down and Liam started opening his nappy, Niall started to cry. His dummy fell from his mouth along with a string of spit which dribbled down the side of his face.

Liam’s eyes widened when he saw the blood in the back of Niall’s nappy. He was not expecting that, although he knew he should have expected it. As soon as Liam tried to start cleaning Niall’s bum and cock, he began screaming. Liam knew it was a tantrum scream, or an _‘I’m in pain_ ’ scream. It was an _‘I’m scared’_ scream.

“Niall, Niall, I promise I’m not going to touch you like that,” Liam’s eyes filled with tears as he glanced down at Niall’s trembling body. All the trust they had built together was just gone, like that but Liam knew he was going to do everything he could to get it back.

“No,” Niall cried, covering his cock with his hands. For once, Liam didn’t give out to him for touching himself. “Don’t,” he screamed, screwing his eyes shut. “Stop!” He cried which had tears rolling down Liam’s cheeks. To know Niall was screaming like this in his childhood bed but that despicable man continued to abuse him anyway made Liam feel so much pent up anger. He wished he knew who did it to Niall, just so he could give him the beating he deserved.

“What’s going on?” Louis asked, running into the room where Niall was sobbing.

“He, it’s, I-“ Liam couldn’t even talk. He just sat down on the edge of the bed with tears rolling down his cheeks. “He’s scared,” he managed to utter then as Louis walked over. Louis glanced down at Niall, a solemn expression etching his features. He sighed quietly, immediately understanding why Niall felt scared.

“Hey Ni, we’re just trying to get you changed,” Louis said. “Will you let me clean you?” He asked, gently taking the wipe from Liam’s hand.

“No!” Niall screamed, only clutching his privates tighter.

“Okay, can daddy clean you?” He asked and Niall shook his head again. “Ni, somebody needs to clean you, do you wanna clean yourself?” Louis questioned with a raised eyebrow. Niall nodded, breathing heavily through his mouth because his nose was full of snot.

“Right, well here big boy,” Louis smiled and handed Niall a wipe. Niall took it, before back at Louis as he didn’t quite know what to do next. “Use the wipe to wipe down there for us,” Louis said to Niall who sat up with their help. He quite sloppily ran the wipe around his cock and then over it, looking back at Louis to see if he’d done it right. Personally, Louis would have wiped under as well, on his pubic bone and in the crevices of his legs but that was good enough for now.

“Good boy!” Louis pressed a gentle kiss to Niall’s forehead. Niall smiled and lay back down when Louis told him to. Louis taped another nappy on his waist before changing Niall into his pyjamas. This proved to be quite a task, trying to do it without it being painful for Niall. Niall didn’t cry though, even though he must have been in excruciating pain. Liam could see the pain on his face anytime he whimpered quietly and scrunched it up, but he didn’t cry.

“Now, I think we should get into bed and watch a movie,” Louis smiled. Liam got Niall comfy on the bed, placing a pillow under Niall’s bum as well as one on either side of him. He wrapped Niall in a blanket and switched on the telly before Louis came in with a bottle of formula he’s heated up for Niall. He got into bed next to Niall and Liam, being sure not to make too much movement that would hurt Niall. “What are we watching?”

“Peppa Pig, what else?” Liam chuckled as Niall began sucking on the bottle. He’d missed his mimi so much. He closed his eyes as he drank it, smiling softly behind the bottle. He was just so happy to be back home again.

When Niall was asleep, Louis gently lifted him to his crib, tucking him in and being sure that his teddy was within hands reach. He kissed Niall’s forehead before getting into bed with Liam, pulling him to his chest.

A few hour after they had fallen asleep, they were rudely awoken by screams coming from Niall’s crib. They both sat up and immediately ran to his side to see what was wrong. Liam thought Niall had hurt himself whereas Louis worried he was having a nightmare. Louis, he was correct.

Niall’s body was trembling and when Louis picked him up, he soon found Niall was sweating profusely. His pyjamas were soaked through all over. “Aww baby.” Louis cooed, rubbing Niall’s clammy back gently as Niall sobbed into his shoulder. “What was it about? Can you tell me?” Louis asked as he brought Niall to the bathroom. Niall shook his head, still sobbing loudly. He didn’t want to talk about it.

He took Niall’s pyjama’s off, wiping down his body with a towel. He then went to open Niall’s nappy but Niall began screaming, louder than earlier when Liam had been changing him. Louis could see Niall’s frame trembling and the sweat beginning to accumulate on his body. He then realised what Niall’s dream was probably about. He sighed and looked over his shoulder to Liam who was behind him.

“What should I do?” He ran a worried hand over his face. Liam bit his lip, watching Niall who was sobbing on the floor, crying _‘stop’_ every few seconds.

“Just take him back to bed, we’ll change him in the morning when he’s not after having a nightmare,” Liam sighed. Louis nodded. His nappy wasn’t that wet anyway, it would do until morning.

“Shush Niall, I’m not gonna touch you, okay? You said stop and I listened,” he spoke gently. Niall glanced at him and his cries went silent. “Wanna go back to bed?” He asked Niall who nodded, hiccuping every few seconds. Louis gently picked Niall up, screwing his face up when Niall cried out in pain. He tucked Niall back into his crib but Niall immediately sat up again.

“Papa,” he whined, putting his hands through the bars. His eyes filled with tears and his bottom lip was trembling.

“What is it?” Louis turned around.

“M’scared,” Niall almost whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek. It was the first thing Niall had actually said to the boys other than _‘no’, ‘daddy’_ or _‘papa’_ since they had found him. This broke both boys hearts to hear this. Louis felt his eyes fill with tears as he knelt down next to Niall’s crib so they were eye level.

“Why are you scared, bud?” Louis asked, reaching forward and flicking the tear from Niall’s cheek. Niall flinched but kept eye contact. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, just whimpering quietly under his breath.

“Papa,” he whined, reaching through the bars for Louis’ hand. Louis allowed him to take it before taking Niall’s hand in both his.

“Wanna sleep with us?” Louis asked, not particularly wanting to leave Niall on his own. He technically wasn’t on his own because he was in the same room as them, but the two boys wanted Niall as close to them as they possibly could have and Niall seemed to want that too.

…

In the morning Liam was woken up by Niall who was lying between both boys whimpering. “Good morning Ni, did you sleep well?” Liam smiled, leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to Niall’s forehead. Niall glanced up at him with a concentration expression, his cheeks reddening as he glanced up at Liam. Liam watched him, wondering what was wrong. Less than a minute later, Niall cried out, gripping the bedsheets in his fist. This woke Louis up who immediately sat up and glanced down at Niall.

“What’s wrong with him?” Louis questioned, protruding eyes watching Niall. Liam was about to respond _‘I don’t know’_ when Niall answered their question for them; a muffled fart coming from between his legs which ended in him beginning to cry. “Ohhh,” Louis said in realisation. “I’ll go run the bath,” he stood up and went to the bathroom. The doctor told them a bath may be what Niall needs after he goes, not only to get clean (because it would hurt too much to wipe) but the hot bath would help the pain.

Niall’s whole body tensed and he screwed his face up. This almost hurt as much as when the man actually did it to Niall. He cried loudly with his eyes shut as the first bit made it’s way out. Liam watched, feeling rather helpless. He knew Niall was in pain when he was crying this hard because Niall had a rather impressive — or concerning, depending on how you look at it — pain threshold.

Liam watched Niall, wishing he could do something to help. After a few more minutes Niall opened his eyes, the remaining tears in his eyes rolling down his cheeks when he did. He didn’t seem in pain anymore. “Are you done?” Liam asked Niall, gently running a hand through his hair which was damp with sweat. Niall nodded but then shook his head when he felt it coming out of him again, this time, it wasn’t solid so it didn’t hurt much to pass.

“Bath’s ready, is he?” Louis asked, peeping his head around the door. Liam picked him up, carrying Niall to the bathroom where he lay him on the changing mat. Even though Niall was wearing no clothes, he was still sweating profusely.

When Liam tried to open Niall’s nappy, Niall began screaming again, wiggling around on the mat which in turn, hurt his bottom. “Calm down, baby, please,” Liam frowned down at Niall who just continued to sob. “Okay, look, not touching,” he held his hands up for Niall to see. Niall sniffled quietly and Liam popped a dummy in his mouth to calm him down.

“Ni, you gotta trust us, we promise we aren’t going to touch you in any way you don’t like, don’t you trust us?” Liam asked Niall who stayed silent behind his dummy.

Louis decided to try a different tactic. “Look Ni, bubbles and loads of toys,” Louis smiled, running his hands through the water. Niall smiled behind his dummy. He missed baths with daddy and papa while he was away. They know how to give the best baths. “Your duck missed you, he wants to say hi,” Louis took the duck and pressed it to Niall’s cheek, telling him the duck was giving him a kiss. This had Niall giggling behind his dummy. Louis smiled. “Does Niall have a kiss for Mr. Duck?” Louis asked all the while Liam began to take off Niall’s nappy whilst he was distracted.

Niall pulled his dummy from his mouth, smiling as Louis held the duck above his lips. Niall giggled and gently kissed the duck, smiling at Louis when he praised him. “Does papa get a kiss too?” Louis questioned, leaning down on his elbows so he was more level with Niall. Niall giggled and shook his head. Louis gasped, looking offended. “But Mr. Duck got a kiss, now papa’s sad he isn’t getting one,” Louis faked cried.

Liam smiled up at the two of them as he gently cleaned around Niall’s hole but being sure not to get too close to it. He watched as Niall grabbed Louis’ face and pulled him down, giving Louis a quick peck on the lips before resting his head back down.

“Hey, does daddy get a kiss too?” Liam asked. Niall glanced down at him with a bright smile and nodded. Liam leaned up and Niall pressed a quick kiss to Liam’s lips too. He smiled brightly at how adorable it was. Niall literally gives them the cutest kisses.

“He has kisses for everyone this morning,” Louis smiled as Niall put his dummy back into his mouth, smiling widely behind it. “Ready to get into the bath?” Louis asked Niall who nodded. As soon as Niall was in the bath, he began sobbing when he looked down and realised he was naked.

His breathing soon became laboured as he just panicked, glancing around the room fearfully. Before Liam and Louis even had time to react, Niall was struggling to breathe. “Come on, let’s get you nice and clean Ni,” Liam smiled, kneeling down next to the tub. Niall shook his head and just sobbed louder, screaming when Liam touched his body with the cloth. It all felt too much for Niall. Being nude in front of the boys and having them touching his naked body. It’s not that he didn’t trust the boys, he did but being naked just brought back all the memories of what that man did to him.

“Ni, how about you clean yourself,” Liam held out the flannel to Niall. Niall took it cried as he held it in his hand. All he could think of was that man's hands all over his thighs and crotch. Niall immediately began scrubbing his thighs as hard as he could, crying the whole time. He wanted to scrub every inch of skin on his body, wanting to get the feeling of those man's hands off. He wished he could scrub his brain too, to erase the memory.

“Hey, hey, hey, stop, you’re going to hurt yourself Niall!” Liam exclaimed and took the cloth from Niall. His thigh was now red-raw, which made Liam sigh when he saw it. Niall just continued to cry as he then picked up his plastic toy boat. He felt the tip of the boat which had a bit of sharp plastic sticking up. Liam had just turned around to Louis for a minute to ask what to do. He turned back only because Niall had gone silent. Niall was no longer crying, just staring at his thighs. Liam’s eyes followed Niall’s and they widened when he saw the scratches on both Niall’s thighs, blood trickling slowly from them, mixing with the water.

“Oh my God, how did you do that?!” Liam exclaimed, a little scared at how calm Niall suddenly was. “Niall, give me that,” Liam tried to take the boat out of Niall’s hand when he realised that’s what he had used. Niall screamed and held it tighter to his chest.

“Niall, give him the boat,” Louis said from behind him. Niall was suddenly beginning to panic again, his breathing coming in short gasps once again. When Liam grabbed the boat from Niall’s grasp, Niall began to sob loudly between gasps for air, another severe panic attack setting in.

Louis quickly went to the cupboard, getting the box of sedatives the doctor had given them. He told them to expect a lot of severe anxiety on Niall’s part as it was related to post traumatic stress which he had already been showing signs of when he arrived in the hospital.

Louis dissolved the pill in water before coming over with the cup to Niall. “Drink this, babe,” Louis gently tipped Niall’s head from its forward position. Niall’s teeth clattered against the glass. He looked at Louis with wide eyes which were watering as he gasped for air. He took a sip and then gasped for air again, glancing up at Louis, shaking his head. “No, you have to drink it all,” Louis firmly said. Louis held the cup for him as he drunk it, grimacing at the taste. When he was done, he coughed before continuing to cry between gasps for air.

After a few minutes, though, Niall’s muscles relaxed and his breathing began to return to normality. He still held his hands tight around his cock, crying quietly. In the back of his mind he knew his daddy or papa would never touch him like that man did but Niall couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable being naked in front of people after what happened. Being naked just reminded him of what happened to him. It wouldn’t matter to Niall who was naked in front of. He was naked and vulnerable, the thought even perturbed him.

“Ni, what’s wrong?” Louis rubbed his back gently as Niall just cried, using both his hands to cover his crotch.

“Hey, how about we cover your willy?” Liam asked, getting a flannel from the towel closet in the bathroom. Niall watched with watery eyes as Liam came over with a flannel. Liam gently placed it over Niall’s crotch so nobody could see his bits anymore. Niall glanced down at it before removing his hands, his cries turning to soft sniffles.

“Is that better?” Louis smiled and Niall nodded, resting his back against the tub. He put his fingers in his mouth, sucking on them gently. Liam quickly swapped Niall’s fingers for his dummy. For the first time since he had gotten into the bath, Niall was completely calm, watching the boys with bright blue eyes, wide and alert.

“Time to wash this hair,” Liam said, beginning to massage shampoo into Niall’s hair. Niall’s eyes fluttered closed as he did this, small grunts of approval telling Liam he liked this as he did find it rather relaxing. Niall loosely sucked on his dummy as Louis helped Liam rinse Niall’s hair out before repeating the process with conditioner.

As Niall lay with his eyes shut, he realised that for the first time since he’d been hurt, he wasn’t in pain. The hot water soothed the pain in Niall’s bottom to virtually nothing. This, along with the help of the sedatives, of course, had Niall in one of his calmest states since being saved.

Louis and Liam both smiled when they saw how calm Niall was. “If only he could have been that calm without the sedative though,” Liam sighed quietly. Although he knew Niall needed those sedatives after the trauma he had been subdued to. Liam just wished he was able to calm Niall down. He didn’t like drugging him.

He gently lifted Niall out of the tub after a while wrapping him in a fluffy duck towel with a hood Harry had purchased for him. It was yellow and on the hood had the face of a duck. He carried Niall downstairs to the living room and gently sat him on the couch, cooing at how adorable Niall looked, sitting on the couch sleepily, wrapped in a duck towel with his hair going in all directions.

Just then, Harry and Zayn came in. Niall smiled sleepily at them. Each of them was holding a wrapped gift which they set in front of the couch. “We got you a present Ni,” Harry smiled, leaning down next to him. Niall smiled again and let Harry hug and kiss him on the cheek.

“I’m so glad he’s okay,” Zayn said as he gave Niall a hug as well after setting down the box he had been holding.

“Aren’t you gonna open your presents, Ni?” Harry asked, smiling softly. Niall just continued to smile sleepily at him being the fingers he was now drooling behind. “Is he okay?” Harry glanced back at Louis.

“We gave him sedatives the doctor gave us for him if he was freaking out, I guess they make him a little drowsy,” Louis said just as Liam entered with Niall’s change of clothes. He smiled at the boys before going over to Niall.

“Wanna be a monkey or a cow?” Liam held up two sets of pyjamas for Niall to choose from. He just looked up at Liam, a string of spit falling onto his chest from behind his fingers. “Monkey or cow?” Liam showed him again. Niall removed his fingers from his mouth, followed by another long string of spit. He just giggled up at Liam, not responding. Liam looked slightly concerned but chose for Niall.

“Is he not talking?” Harry asked, frowning slightly while Liam taped a nappy on Niall’s waist.

“He was before we gave him the sedative so maybe it’s that,” Liam said, not knowing whether to blame Niall’s sudden change in headspace due to the fact he’d just been through a lot of trauma or he was just drowsy.

He just sighed and used the towel to wipe off Niall’s thighs where the scratches had finally stopped bleeding. After drying Niall’s whole body, he got Niall into the monkey pyjamas. These were adorable, the top was brown and the whole front of it was a monkey’s face whereas the bottom’s had a monkey tail on the bum which Liam found absolutely adorable. They were children’s pyjamas aged 12-13 boys so the cuffed trousers were a little short on Niall but weren’t an all over bad fit, which could be a little concerning.

“He looks adorable,” Zayn cooed as Liam popped a dummy in Niall’s mouth and then sat him on the floor next to the wrapped boxes Harry and Zayn had left. As Niall observed the wrapping paper on the boxes — which was, of course, Peppa pig — Liam towel dried Niall’s hair from his seat on the couch.

“Are you gonna open them?” Harry smiled at Niall who was poking the Peppa pigs on the wrapping paper, breathing heavily. “Look, do this,” Harry ripped the side of the paper. Niall screamed when he done this and Harry jumped. Niall began giggling at his reaction.

“Are you trying to scare Harry?” Louis asked, gently pinching Niall’s cheek. “Naughty boy,” he teased as Niall giggled loudly. Niall squealed and began hitting his palms against the box, squealing loudly as he did. The boys watched, smiling fondly but were rather worried because Niall was acting like more of a baby right now then they’d ever seen in him before.

Niall then opened the presents the boys had gotten him. In one was a Peppa Pig playset and in the other was a Peppa pig play house. Harry thought Niall might like that as it would be a place for him to hide, you know, like a little safe space he could have to get away from everyone and everything. He knew Liam wanted to set up a playroom for Niall so he thought this was the perfect time to get him one. 

“How about the boys set that up for you and you and I go have breakfast,” Louis smiled, holding a hand out to Niall. Niall whined and picked up the Peppa playset, poking the plastic above where Peppa was. “What do you want Ni?” Louis asked. Niall just whined again, pointing to the toy. “Use your words, Ni,” Louis said.

“Peppa,” he glanced up at Louis, handing him the box.

“Oh, you want peppa?” He asked and Niall nodded, bouncing on his bum as he waited for Louis to take her out. He stopped bouncing when it hurt and just sat waiting. Louis handed him the Peppa toy before picking him up and carrying a rather excited Niall to the kitchen. He strapped Niall into his highchair all the while Niall was babbling with his new toy.

“Now, do you want banana or vanilla yogurts?” Louis asked, putting a bib on Niall. Niall was allowed foods like yogurts as it was considered a liquid because it won’t harden his stool. He basically has no choice but to eat like a baby. “Okay, banana it is,” Louis said when Niall didn’t answer as he was too occupied with his toy.

Niall put the Peppa figure in his mouth, sucking on her head and gurgling contently behind it. Louis took the toy out of his mouth and replaced it with a spoonful of yogurt. Niall opened and closed his mouth a few times before swallowing what was in his mouth although some of the yogurt was dribbling down his chin onto the bib he wore.

“More?” Louis held the spoon up to Niall who kept his mouth shut. He then twisted in the highchair, trying to see out to the living area but he couldn’t. He turned back around and opened his mouth just enough for Louis to slip the spoon in.

“Dada,” Niall said, turning around in the highchair again. He hadn’t swallowed what was in his mouth so when he spoke, it all began dribbling down onto his bib.

“Niall, come on, use your big boy words,” Louis urged as he used the bib to wipe around Niall’s mouth. Niall just started to cry when he turned around again. “What’s wrong Niall?” Louis asked, frowning as he put down the spoon he was holding. Niall just continued to cry. “Niall, can you tell me if you’re in pain?” Louis asked, watching Niall’s contorted expression. He nodded in response. ”Where?” Louis asked, standing up and going to get some painkillers.

“Bum,” Niall cried, falling back against the padded back of the highchair. Louis nodded, dissolving some of the painkillers in Niall’s formula and coming back over to him. He picked Niall up and placed him on his hip which had Niall crying out in pain.

“Shh, we’re gonna make you feel better,” Louis hushed Niall, carrying him to the living room. He gently sat Niall on the couch on top of some pillows before handing him the bottle. “Drink this, it’ll make you feel better,” Louis kissed the top of Niall’s head gently.

When Niall finished drinking he was no longer in pain although he was bloated now and was feeling ill. The boys had his playhouse ready. Harry came in to fetch him, carrying him to his new playroom the boys set up for him. Inside were his playhouse, his ballpit and his baskets of toys aligned by the wall under the window. In the other corner was a giant teddy along with various other small ones the boys had gotten him.

Niall’s face lit up from Harry’s arms when he saw the room. “Peppa!” He squealed, pointing to his new playhouse. Harry placed him on his feet, assuming Niall could walk but Niall cried out and his left ankle — which was still swollen — went from under him, causing him to fall onto the floor. He remained unaffected though and continued to crawl over to the playhouse. All the boys smiled at Niall’s excitement smile covering his features.

Niall squealed, hitting the door with his palms. “Niall, it’s pull, not push,” Zayn opened the door for him. Niall crawled in and closed the door after him. He was laughing loudly from inside, opening the window and looking out at the boys.

“He’s actually so cute,” Harry cooed as Niall yelled _“Hello!”_ As loud as he could. Louis knelt down and knocked on the door which had Niall squealing.

“Can I come in?” He asked Niall.

“Who’s it?” Niall lisped, covering his mouth with his hand as he giggled.

“It’s papa,” Louis replied, knocking on the door again.

“No!” Niall giggled and kept the door shut.

“Yeah, that’s Niall’s safespace so you’re not allowed in it,” Harry told Louis. “I think we need to get him a beanbag for in there and maybe a few books so when he’s upset or feeling scared he can go in there and know nobody will bother him,” Harry said and Liam smiled. It was a good idea and right now, Niall needed something like this, considering his anxiety.

He only came out of the playhouse because Liam basically dragged him out to have him changed. “You’re wet babe, we gotta change you,” Liam lay Niall on the floor and he immediately began to scream, thrashing around on the floor.

“What’s wrong with him?” Harry asked, frowning as he watched Niall scream.

“He doesn’t like changes after what happened,” Liam sighed, pulling down Niall’s pyjama pants all the while Niall screamed. Harry watched, a solicitous expression covering his features.

“Stop,” Niall cried, tears rolling down his cheeks, mixing with the saliva at the edges of his mouth.

“Niall, I need to change you, you’re wet,” Liam sighed, watching Niall who was beginning to panic, his chest rising up and down rapidly. “Oh Ni, I’m so sorry,” Liam brought a trembling Niall into his arms. Even though he hadn’t technically done anything wrong, he felt as though he couldn’t do anything right either. All he wished was Niall would trust him, even with simple things like nappy changes.

Harry and Zayn watched as Niall worked himself up in Liam’s arms, frightening himself when he was gasping for air. His heart was pumping incessantly at an alarming rate in his chest and he himself was feeing rather faint. To top it all off, the milk he had earlier came back up with a burp. He spluttered and coughed when it did, choking a little from how tense and out of breath he was.

Louis came rushing into the room with another sedative. As much as he hated drugging Niall, he hated seeing him put himself through this. Louis got Niall to drink it, all the while Niall was sobbing in Liam’s arms. When he finished it, Liam gently took Niall’s soiled pyjama shirt off and held him close to his chest. It took about five minutes for the sedatives to kick in but once they did, Niall sat calmly with his cheek pressed against Liam’s chest, regaining his breath.

Once he’d regained it, Liam lay him down, watching Niall who stared at the ceiling with half-lidded eyes. He gently eased Niall’s trousers down and began changing him, this time without a peep from Niall; which theoretically he was a little out of it so that would explain his calmness.

“How long will he be like this?” Zayn asked with a frown as Liam gave Niall a good wipe down now that he was allowing him to.

“I don’t know, I hope not long,” Liam sighed. “He’ll see his psychologist soon so she’ll probably be able to tell us. I hope he’ll be comfortable with us again soon though because this is so hard,” Liam ran a hand through his hair as he watched Niall chew on his fingers. “At least the bleeding has stopped though,” he glanced back at Louis as he rolled up Niall’s used nappy. Louis nodded with a small smile as he handed Liam a new nappy.

“I wish we could take Niall for a day to give you guys a break, but I think that would be too much for him,” Harry said, biting on his nail.

“We wouldn’t want to part with him anyway,” Liam said as he taped Niall’s new nappy on his waist. “See Ni, you’re all nice and clean now and I didn’t touch you in any way you didn’t like, did I?” Liam asked. Niall just stared at him with glassy eyes as he chewed on his fingers, shaking his head slowly. “Can you trust me now?” Liam asked, wiping around Niall’s mouth with a wipe. Niall didn’t respond, he just drooled down his chin.

“Daddy,” he held his arms out to Liam who smiled and brought Niall to his chest. Niall immediately began gnawing on Liam’s shirt. Liam felt the hot perspiration soon seeping through onto his skin as Niall continued to gnaw. As he watched the rather drowsy looking boy, he couldn’t help but feel extreme guilt bubbling in his stomach.

…

That night as Louis tucked Niall into his crib, Niall began whimpering. He sat up again and held his hands out to Louis. “What is it babe?” Louis asked.

“Sleep wif’ daddy n’ papa,” Niall whimpered. Louis couldn’t say no so he took Niall into bed with the two of them. He smiled fondly down at Niall as Niall snuggled up to them, contently sucking on his dummy. He watched Louis and Liam with a small smile behind his dummy, rubbing his eyes which were red and swollen from all the crying he had done today.

“Night night Niall, love you lots,” Louis placed a delicate kiss on Niall’s forehead, Liam repeating this action. They both cooed when Niall took one of each of their hands, clutching them tightly as he fell asleep. They both knew he was asleep when his grip loosened and his breathing became heavy behind his dummy.

“Night babe, I love you too,” Louis leaned over Niall, gently pressing a kiss to Liam’s lips. Their sleep was soon interrupted though when Niall woke them screaming and thrashing around in the bed. Louis quickly shook Niall’s trembling, sweating body. Niall woke up with a start, glancing around the room with protruding eyes. Louis went with the usual routine and dried Niall’s body off with a towel. Whilst Louis did this Liam fetched Niall a warm bottle of milk to calm him down. He hoped this would do the trick so they wouldn’t have to drug him.

“Do you wanna do anything nice tomorrow?” Louis asked, rubbing Niall’s tummy gently as he began sucking on his bottle. Tears were still rolling down his cheeks and hiccups coming from between his lips every so often.

“Play football,” Niall sniffled quietly, glancing up at Louis. “N’ go for walk.”

“Well, I don’t think you’re in shape to be playing football but we can definitely go for a walk with your pushchair, that’d be fun, yeah?” Louis smiled as Liam ran a hand through Niall’s hair. He leaned down and pressed a delicate kiss to Niall’s forehead. They both smiled when they realised Niall was calming down just fine. Before they both knew it, Niall was asleep again.

In the morning, a giddy Niall woke the boys up, yelling that it was play time. “Niall, it’s like eight in the morning, it’s sleep time,” Louis groaned, rolling over and burying his face in his pillow. Niall climbed on Louis’ back and began bouncing, giggling as he did.

“No, wake!” Niall giggled, glancing to Liam who was smiling brightly at him. Despite the lethargy and the fact it was so early, Liam couldn’t help but smile at Niall because he was acting like Niall again. He liked seeing him so giddy and just happy.

“You’re a happy boy this morning,” Liam smiled at Niall who was still giggling. When Louis would’t budge, Niall leaned forward and grabbed the glass of water sitting on the bedside table. He gave Liam a sideway glance, giggling as he did. “Niall,” Liam warned, knowing Nialll had no intentions to drink that water.

“Niall, don’t!” Liam raised an eyebrow at Niall who just giggled and tipped the glass, spilling it on Louis’ head. Louis jumped, pushing Niall off him in the process. “Fuck!” Louis exclaimed as Niall whimpered quietly because the sudden movement hurt his bottom, but it wasn’t as sore as it had been.

“Naughty word,” Niall frowned at Louis, folding his arms.

“Yeah Louis, that was a naughty word,” Liam said as Louis glared at Niall who was giggling.

“Did you pour water on papa?” Louis raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s very naughty too, Niall.”

“No, daddy did,” he pointed to Liam with a giggle.

“You little monkey,” Louis tickled Niall sides which had him squealing loudly. “I can’t believe you poured water on your papa, now you have to give him lots of cuddles to say sorry,” Louis withdrew his hands when he saw Niall getting out of breath. Niall just giggled as he sat up and wrapped his arms around Louis’ neck.

“He’s papa’s little monkey,” Liam smiled as Niall give Louis a kiss and then smiled up at him.

“Yes, he is papa’s little monkey,” Louis wrapped his arms tightly around Niall, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. Even though Niall had just soaked him he didn’t care because he was so happy to see Niall just being the little devious shit he always has been. “You need a nappy change, my little monkey,” Louis said to Niall who whined and shook his head.

“No,” he bowed his head, the smile suddenly disappearing from his face.

“Yes mister, you’re soaked,” Louis bopped Niall’s nose. He just looked away from Louis, his demeanour drastically changing from his elated one just a mere few minutes ago. “You can trust us, yeah? How about one of us changes you and you tell us what to do yeah?” Louis asked but Niall stayed silent. “Who would you rather change you, daddy or papa?”

“Daddy,” Niall quietly responded. Louis wasn’t all that offended as he expected him to choose Liam seeing as Liam had been the one changing him from day one and Liam was the only one he let touch his dirty nappies.

“Right, come on bug, we’ll go change you,” Liam gently lifted Niall onto his hip. He carried Niall to the bathroom and lay him on the mat where Niall lay sucking on his thumb with tears rolling down his cheeks. Liam gently eased Niall’s pyjama paints down and Niall’s tears began spilling more rapidly.

“Daddy,” he whimpered, biting down on his thumb.

“What is it, Ni?” Liam took Niall’s hand out of his mouth, holding it in his.

“Want teddy,” he whimpered. Liam nodded and fetched Niall’s teddy for him which Niall held protectively to his chest. He felt a little more comfortable with its fur pressed against his cheek.

Liam opened the tabs of Niall’s nappy slowly, letting it fall open. He pulled it from under Niall and then began the most gruelling task; wiping. He took a wipe and hesitantly began wiping around Niall’s cock. He watched Niall’s expression, watching how he screwed his eyes shut as Liam wiped him, tears spilling down his cheeks copiously. Once clean, Liam taped a new nappy on Niall’s waist and immediately brought Niall’s trembling frame into his.

“You did so well for me Niall, I’m so proud of you,” Liam smiled softly, kissing all over Niall’s face. Niall began to cry audibly then, allowing himself to cry pitifully in Liam’s arms. “You can trust me now, yeah?” Liam asked and Niall nodded into his chest.

Louis smiled from the doorway where he watching them, happy to see Niall coming back to himself again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi sorry I didn't update on Wednesday like I said I would, but I knew I wouldn't of had another update ready for Saturday and I don't want to get out of the routine of updating every Saturday! 
> 
> So yeah, hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if it was a little sad but he's back with his daddies!! Are you liking this storyline? I hope you guys are! Let me know down below and yeah, thanks so so much for reading and for all your lovely comments! Love you all so much, lots of love, A Xx.


	16. Chapter 16

The following week Niall was seen by his psychologist who seemed to find that although he was extremely anxious now, he was doing well with Liam and Louis and seemed to be comfortable. He was growing comfortable again, he would allow Liam to change his nappy now without much fuss, although bath time he still found nerve-wrecking.

The doctor had also seen him and told them that he was healing just fine down there. Niall didn’t seem to be in any pain anymore but Liam knew he had a high pain threshold and wouldn’t tell them if he was hurting.

His foot had also fully healed but Niall hadn’t started walking again. He would only crawl and got the boys to carry him everywhere else. Whenever they tried to put him down on his feet, he would scream and fall on his bum. Neither of the boys minded because they enjoyed carrying him around. The more dependant Niall was on them made them feel more needed. Neither of them even wanted to think of when Niall would come out of his headspace because they would miss this so much. They loved having little Niall.

Christmas was coming up soon and the boys all planned to spend Christmas eve together. The four of them decided it would be a cute idea to have Santa come to Niall, like a real kid would have. Between them all, they planned to buy some gifts for Niall, not an extortionate amount, but a generous amount of gifts. They planned to get toys but they also get him some clothes, shoes and essentials he uses at the minute such as bottles, dummies and the lot.

“Are you excited for Santa to come?” Harry asked Niall who nodded, giggling from the floor where he was colouring in. “What’s he bringing you? Have you written him a letter?” Harry questioned and Niall nodded.

“Yeah, do you wanna see? We haven’t posted it yet,” Liam handed Harry a very scribbly page. “He’s asked for a Peppa Pig interactive teddy,” Liam said when he knew Harry couldn’t make out when Niall had carelessly written.

“Is that all you asked for?” Harry asked and Niall nodded.

“It’s all he wanted, he wouldn’t tell us anything else,” Liam folded the letter, placing it back on the mantelpiece.

“Peppa!” Niall clapped his hands before going back to colouring. A few minutes later he handed Louis a sheet with blue scribbles all over it.

“What this Niall?” Louis asked as he turned around the sheet, holding it at different perspectives trying to figure out what it was.

“Papa.” he pointed to the sheet.

“Oh wow Ni, that drawing is so good,” Louis smiled. Even though it didn’t resemble anything like Louis, he appreciated the fact Niall took the time to draw him a picture. Niall smiled proudly at him before crawling over to his football and throwing it at Harry. Harry threw it back and Niall was about to throw it again when Louis stopped him.

“Hey, be careful Niall, you aren’t meant to play football inside and you know that,” Louis warned, raising an eyebrow at Niall. Niall pouted and dropped the ball, watching it roll between his legs, a melancholic expression etching his features.

“Aww, Louis let him,” Liam cooed when he saw Niall’s face. Liam had gotten even more slack since Niall returned — if that was possible — he just didn’t like seeing Niall upset. If playing football inside was going to make Niall happy, he was going to allow him to do so.

“Pushover,” Louis rolled his eyes as Liam handed Niall the ball again. Niall smiled before glancing to Louis and sticking his tongue out at him as though saying haha, I won, daddy lets me get away with everything, bitch, which this was completely true. “If you break anything, you’re dead mister,” Louis warned. It was an empty threat and Niall knew it, he just knew he needed to be careful not to break anything because he wouldn’t want to make his daddy or papa sad.

Niall grinned as he sat up on his knees and rolled the ball over to Harry and Zayn. They began rolling it back to him each time he rolled it over, giggling loudly each time. The boys smiled as they watched him but it was when Niall began getting too over-excited and threw the ball they told him to be careful. He threw the ball to Harry again but missed and hit a glass ornament that was sitting on a side table. It fell to the ground with a crash and shattered. Niall’s body immediately jolted and he began sobbing. The sound of the glass breaking had actually frightened him.

“Niall!” Louis yelled as Niall sobbed. He held trembling hands out to Liam, tears rolling down his cheeks copiously. He was trying to be careful and the glass breaking really frightened him. It reminded him of when his da got angry and broke things.

“He must have scared himself, look he wet himself,” Zayn pointed to the growing wet patch in the crease of Niall’s jogger shorts where his nappy was evidently leaking.

“Oh Niall,” Liam cooed, picking up a sobbing Niall. Niall tried to speak but he couldn’t so he just buried his face in Liam’s neck. Niall lifted his head from Liam’s shoulder which now had a wet patch on it from both Niall crying and drooling.

“Sorwy,” Niall sniffled, staring at the broken glass on the floor. Liam cooed, kissing the top of Niall’s head gently before setting him down.

“Stay away from the glass, we’re going to clean it,” Louis said as he and Liam went to go get some cleaning supplies. Harry and Zayn stayed with Niall, watching him as he crawled closer to the glass.

“Niall, don’t touch it,” Harry warned as Niall stared down at it. Harry and Zayn both quickly turned when they heard a bang come from the hallway. They quickly went to inspect and saw Louis had tripped over the vacuum cleaner he was taking out of the closet. “Well done,” Harry chuckled as Liam helped Louis up, giving him a quick peck on the lips when he had.

They returned to the living room a few minutes later to see Niall sitting on the rug silently, staring at his arm. “Hey bud, come on, lets get you change-“ Liam stopped what he was saying when his eyes followed to where Niall was staring, where blood was trickling down his arm onto his shorts. Liam’s eyes widened significantly and he froze as his eyes focused on the cuts on Niall’s wrist.

“What’s wr-“ Louis stopped mid-sentence and placed a hand over his mouth. Liam’s eyes switched from the shattered glass next to Niall to his bleeding arm and he soon put two and two together. “Niall, why would you do this?!” Louis exclaimed as he immediately began sweeping up the glass before Niall could cut himself anymore. Niall didn’t respond and just continued to stare at his arm which was rather concerning for Liam.

“Niall!” Liam nudged Niall who wasn’t moving. He sat idly, staring at his arm with one of his hands clenched. “Niall, give me whatever you’re holding,” Liam held a hand out to Niall who only instinctively held what was in his hand tighter. “Niall, give it,” Liam said more sternly, as he grabbed Niall’s turning him to look at him. “Niall, look at me,” Liam said, louder than he meant to. Niall flinched and finally looked up at Liam. “Niall, give me what’s in your hand,” Liam demanded as Niall began to cry. His petite body began trembling beneath Liam’s but he was giving up whatever he held in his hand.

“Niall, give him it!” Louis yelled a little too loud. Niall immediately began to sob loudly and Louis then realised he had frightened him, feeling guilty. Liam scooped Niall’s trembling body up and gently carried him upstairs, hushing him gently. He soon realised that a more gentle approach was the way to go with Niall. He was already aware of this, although in the moment of panic, he had let this slip from his mind.

He set Niall on the counter in the bathroom, standing in between his legs. “Hey babe, can you give me what you have in your hand, please?” Liam gently asked, taking Niall’s clenched fist in both his hands. Niall reluctantly opened his fist and dropped the item into Liam’s awaiting palm. Liam gasped when he saw the inside of Niall’s hand was all bloody. Looking to the item in his palm he took into account it was a piece of glass which was covered in blood. Liam hastily disposed of the glass and then came back to Niall who had his head bowed and was sobbing quietly.

“Niall, babe, why did you do this?” Liam asked Niall who just threw himself into Liam’s arms. Liam caught Niall and held him close to his chest, pressing his lips to the top of his head.

“I s’bad,” Niall cried into Liam’s chest.

“No, babe, you weren’t bad,” Liam sighed, glancing down at Niall with a rather solicitous glance. Niall just continued to cry into his chest while Liam rubbed his back soothingly. “Do you wanna have a bath, babe?” Liam quietly asked Niall who shook his head. Niall moved forward on the counter and wrapped his legs around Liam’s waist. “How about a shower?” Liam asked Niall who whined and shook his head. “Please, come on, we need to clean your arm babe and your wet,” He rubbed Niall’s thigh which was wet. Niall just cried as Liam stripped and got him into the shower.

“No!” Niall screamed and jumped on his feet as Liam turned on the shower.

“I’ll be quick,” Liam told Niall who screamed once again. “Oi, stop throwing a tantrum, little man,” Liam scolded Niall who just screamed again and stomped his feet once more.

“Daddy,” Niall screamed and held out his hands when Liam began pouring the water over Niall’s body. As soon as it hit the cuts on his arm he began to screech in pain because they evidently stung.

“Hey, that’s what happens when you give yourself owies,” Liam said as Louis entered the bathroom to see what all the screaming was about. “Our little dude is having a tantrum,” Liam chuckled, gesturing to Niall who was scowling at Liam,arms folded across his chest.

“Papa,” Niall held his hands out to Louis who went over with a towel and scooped Niall up.

“See papa saved you,” Louis pressed a kiss to Niall’s forehead before setting him down on the counter. Niall was soon rewarded with his dummy which he sucked on contently. Liam turned off the shower and came over, taking Niall’s wrist in his hand. “Babe, promise us you won’t do this again,” Louis said as Liam began to wipe away the excess blood. As Niall glanced to his arm it reminded him of being big Niall and for a minute, he forgot he was little Niall. Everything went blank in his mind for a moment and then suddenly, he was puzzled. He spat out his dummy in distaste and glanced around at his surroundings.

“Wait, what are you doing? What am I doing here, what are you guys doing?!” Niall exclaimed, looking around the room fretfully. Both the boys eyes widened and Liam dropped Niall’s wrist he had been holding because Niall suddenly did not sound like baby Niall.

“Niall…?” Louis trailed off.

“Louis?! What the fuck is going on?!” Niall yelled, glancing around the room, his eyes falling to the duck towel he was wrapped in. Niall slid off the counter, appearing rather perplexed. Once he did, his legs wobbled beneath him and he immediately fell to the floor beneath him with a thud. Liam instinctively immediately scooped Niall up and held him close to his chest. Liam heard Niall’s breath becoming laboured and he anticipated another panic attack. For Niall, big Niall experienced them a lot more frequently than little Niall. Niall stared at the wall with wide, bewildered eyes for a moment before Liam’s gentle hand on his back and whisper of sweet nothings in his ear had him regressing again. Big Niall just wanted to feel like someone else could make everything better.

A few moments later Niall was completely calm again. Liam set him on the counter, a rather anguished look on his face as he began to bandage Niall’s arm silently. Nobody knew what to say. “What the fuck was that?” Louis asked as the two went downstairs, Niall on hip wrapped in his duck towel.

He placed Niall on the couch, popping his dummy in his mouth again. Niall began quietly sucking on it while rubbing his red-rimmed eyes. “What’s wrong with you?” Harry asked Liam who was looking rather pale.

“He just… he like spoke like Niall and not like baby Niall and then suddenly just reverted back to baby Niall again,” Liam scratched the back of his head as Niall stared in front of him.

“Niall, are you okay?” Zayn asked. No response. Niall didn’t even react to his name, he just continued to suck quietly on his dummy as he stared at the wall. Louis sat down next to Niall and as soon as he did, Niall was curled around him, mimicking a koala. The boys cooed at Niall who buried his face under Louis’ arm. Louis wrapped it around Niall, rubbing his back gently.

For the remainder of the evening, Niall didn’t budge from the couch. He didn’t speak to anyone but just cuddled whoever was sat next to him. When it was bedtime, Liam was tucking Niall into his crib when he immediately began whining. Since Niall returned home from Ireland, he’d rarely slept in his crib at night. He had been sleeping in with the boys which was a terrible habit to give him but they both liked knowing Niall was safe and it made Niall feel as though he was safe. Liam and Louis both knew they needed to start sleeping training him though because the bed was a squash and Louis and Liam never got to cuddle anymore and they missed that.

“Ni, you gotta sleep in your own crib,” Liam said, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Niall’s forehead. Niall sat up and reached through the bars, crying “scared.” Liam didn’t know if Niall genuinely still was scared or he just knew how to emotionally manipulate him but either way, it worked. His nightmares had mostly stopped and he only had the odd one now, so Liam felt he may just be saying that because he knew it would aid him in getting his own way. Smart little lad, eh?

…

The following day it was decided that Louis and Liam would go out for dinner and Niall would stay at home with Harry and Zayn. This left Liam feeling rather apprehensive as they hadn’t left Niall since he’d come home to them but he felt as though Niall trusted Harry and Zayn as much as he trusted them now, considering they’re here most days with him as well.

As soon as Niall saw the boys going to the door without him he immediately grow worried. He grabbed his coat from the couch and crawled after them, wanting to be sure he wasn’t going to be left here without them. “Daddy,” he held out his coat to Liam, waiting for him to take it from his grasp to put it on him. Liam immediately felt guilt bubble in his stomach. He knew he deserved to go out for dinner with Louis because they never got a break, but he still couldn’t feel guilty for wanting to leave Niall. He loved looking after him, but sometimes a little time with Louis on his own was nice.

“Ni, you’re not coming,” Liam crouched down next to Niall who’s expression suddenly fell. “Papa and I are going to go out together and little boys like you can’t come but we’ll be home later tonight. Little boys like you best be in bed when we do come home though, we might have a little surprise for you in the morning if you’re good,” Liam leaned down and gave Niall a kiss on the forehead.

“You’ll be a good boys though while we’re gone, won’t you?” Louis asked Niall who nodded unsurely. “Harry and Zayn are gonna stay here with you and daddy and I will be back before you know it,” Louis kissed Niall’s forehead before going to the door with Liam. Niall watched with worried eyes before stopping the boys who were about to go out the door.

“Daddy! Papa!” He called. “Kiss!” He exclaimed. Niall had never not given either of them a kiss if they were going to leave him and he wasn’t going to stop now. The boys smiled and went over to Niall, leaning down to him and smiling as he give each of them a kiss. He then let them go without any fuss, letting Harry carry him to his playroom.

Harry attempted to get Niall to engage in play with him but Niall didn’t seem too interested. Harry’s endeavours were futile and he watched rather helpless as Niall crawled into his playhouse and shut the door. Harry decided to leave him be and came back to check on Niall some time later. He opened the door of the playhouse and peaked in to see Niall lying on his beanbag, sucking on his dummy while he cuddled his teddy.

“Hey Ni, wanna come out and have some dinner?” Harry asked Niall who shook his head. Harry then noticed a small trickle of blood on Niall’s arm and immediately became worried he had hurt himself again. “Niall, come out here now please, I need to check your arm,” Harry worriedly said. Niall shook his head and whined, curling in on himself more. Harry sighed deeply and crawled into the playhouse, taking Niall’s arm in his hand. He could literally wrap his fingers around Niall’s arm it was still that skinny.

“Ni, did you scratch yourself?” Harry asked, inspecting the cuts which were red-raw and bleeding again. It was pretty evident he had scratched them but Niall shook his head anyway, denying all accusations. Niall began crying then, whimpering daddy and papa under his breath. “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Harry brought Niall into his arms. “You miss them, don’t you?” Harry questioned to which Niall nodded. “I know, I know,” he kissed the top of Niall’s head with a sigh. “But you can’t hurt yourself,” he whispered. “How about we go get you cleaned up and have ice-cream for dinner?” Harry asked and suddenly Niall’s face lit up. He nodded excitedly before crawling out of the playhouse himself and waiting for Harry at the door of the playroom, bouncing excitedly on his bum.

Harry carried Niall to the kitchen and sat him in his highchair. Zayn began feeding him ice-cream while Harry cleaned Niall’s arm and bandaged it again. Niall allowed him and only flinched when he used the antiseptic on his cuts which was bound to sting tremendously.

“You can’t be hurting yourself Ni,” Zayn sighed as he watched Harry put away the first aid kit. “Why did you do it?” He asked as Niall sucked on his fingers even though his mouth was full of ice-cream. Ice-cream dribbled all down his fingers and down his shirt.

“Sad,” he said, ending in more ice-cream being dribbled everywhere. Zayn sighed and nodded. He leaned forward and gently kissed Niall’s forehead. “Tell us next time you’re sad, we’ll make you feel better, I promise,” Zayn said before spooning another spoonful of ice-cream into Niall’s awaiting mouth.

Niall wanted to believe Zayn when he said he could make him feel better, but the only thing that would make him feel better in that instance was seeing his daddy and papa again. He had separation anxiety and he just simply missed them. He knew no matter what Zayn or Harry did, nothing would cheer him up other than getting cuddles form either daddy or papa.

A while later the boys found themselves cuddled together with Niall sprawled across their laps, watching the telly tiredly. It was past his bedtime but he was determined he wanted to stay up to see Louis and Liam arrive home, although the two boys doubted he was going to be able to make it.

They watched Niall with a soft smile as he attempted to fight the sleep. His eyes would droop closed every minute or so and his head would droop as well before he would suddenly jolt and force his eyes open. After a little while of this, he moved from their lap and crawled over to the window. He pulled himself up onto the windowsill and sat there, staring out the window.

“Ni, what are you doing?” Harry asked as he watched Niall press his face against the glass. He chuckled quietly as he watched Niall, finding it rather endearing.

“Wait for daddy n’ papa,” he replied, not moving his eyes from where they were watching outside. A few minutes later he turned around, leaning against the window. His bare feet swung from where he was sat, his eyes drooping closed again.

“Ni, how about you, me and Zayn all go to bed and when daddy and papa come back we can get up and go see them, does that sound good?” Harry asked. Niall nodded sleepily, rubbing his tired eyes. Harry thought if they could get Niall off to sleep he wouldn’t wake again until morning and that would mean Louis and Liam could have the night to themselves as well. ]

Zayn went over and picked Niall up gently while Harry began putting off the telly and the lights downstairs. Upstairs, Zayn was setting Niall on the bed in the spare room, a onesie and nappy in hand.

Surprisingly to both boys, Niall allowed them to change his nappy. He was too sleepy and barely even noticed what they were doing, much to the boys relief as they weren’t prepared for one of Niall’s meltdowns.

As soon as Niall was cosy between the two boys, he fell asleep, holding their hands. The boys found it adorable that he had to be touching them in some way, holding on to them as though he thought they were going to go somewhere - or he was, perhaps.

Not long later, the boys were awoke by Niall’s hysterical screaming and crying from between them. They jumped up in the bed and glanced down at Niall who was thrashing about, evidently having a nightmare.

Harry immediately shook Niall’s body and he woke with a start. As soon as he did, the sobbing began. “Daddy, papa,” he cried as Harry held him in his arms, rubbing Niall’s clammy back gently in a poor effort to calm him down. Harry was aware that Niall hadn’t had a nightmare in quite some time and he knew it was probably the fact he was separated from the boys which caused it.

He continuously sobbed for the next ten minutes, despite the boys attempts to calm him down and before Niall knew it, he felt the all too familiar weight on his chest. He felt as though someone was pressing down hard on his chest to prevent him from breathing and he wished someone was right now because he hated feeling like this. The room began to spin for Niall as he gasped for air, sobs making their way out every few seconds as well.

“What the hell do we do?!” Zayn asked, looking quite worried as he watched Niall who was turning a little pale before them.

“Get a sedative from the bathroom, Louis told me they’re there if we need them and hurry!” He exclaimed as tears rolled copiously down Niall’s cheeks. He was frightening himself right now, all he wanted was for daddy or papa to hold him. He knew if he was in their arms he was safe and they made the pressure go away on his chest whenever this bad thing pressed down on it. In Niall’s mind, he saw his anxiety as an evil person, someone who liked to stop him from doing things and someone who liked to make Niall sad and upset. That’s what someone who isn’t nice is, right? In his naive eyes, it was.

“I got it,” Zayn came in with a cup and Niall knew what was happening. He drank what was in the cup and didn’t even grimace this time at the taste. Papa give him these on his bad days and Niall knew it helped him but he was also aware it made him feel a little funny — different — but he didn’t mind when it made his anxiety diminish.

After a few minutes, Niall began to slowly calm down, his breathing slowly returning to normal and much to the boys relief, he seemed completely calm again. Harry felt his tense body go limp in his arms and he knew then that Niall had relaxed. Zayn popped a dummy in Niall’s mouth which Niall began to suck on contently.

“Daddy, papa,” he whimpered behind his dummy.

“They’ll be home soon, I promise,” Zayn kissed the top of Niall’s head. He wondered what was taking them so long. He just presumed they went out for some drinks after dinner which was warranted considering how little time they have to themselves these days.

Niall nodded, his eyes fluttered closed as Harry played with his hair and before long, Niall was sleeping again.

An hour or so later, Zayn woke and glanced around, his eyes widening when he saw Niall was no longer lying between them. He immediately panicking, standing up and looking around the room. Deciding not to panic Harry, he left the room quietly in search of Niall.

As soon as he exited the bedroom, from the landing upstairs, he got a clear view of the front door where he could see a diminutive body curled up — Niall. Immediately relief flew through his body. He sprinted down the stairs and saw Niall all curled up, sleeping while cuddling one of Liam’s jumpers and one of Louis’ hoodies. He immediately felt bad for Niall. He missed them so much he felt the need to hold something close to him that smelled of them and not only that, but sit at the door to wait for them to come home. Zayn knew how hard it must have been for Niall to be separated from them after all that happened.

He knelt down next to Niall and gently lifted his body up. Niall stirred in his arms but stayed sleeping. Zayn knew Niall wanted to see the boys home to calm himself, but his fatigue really beat him to it. Zayn carried Niall back upstairs to bed and wrapped his freezing body in an extra blanket. Sitting at the door had his body frozen. Once he knew Niall was comfortable, he decided to stay awake to be sure he didn’t wander off again.

A while later he heard the boys come home, he was going to wake Niall to let him know but when he heard the boys go straight to the bedroom, he knew it was better to let them have their ‘alone’ time. He concluded this was the right decision when he could hear them doing something he wished, for his sanity, he never heard.

…

In the morning, Niall was all smiles and giggles as soon as he was with the boys again. For the whole morning, he was clinging onto one of them, not letting them go. He never wanted them to leave again because last night was rather traumatic for him and he didn’t like how anxious he felt without them around.

They had a little surprise for Niall for being so great, one was an advent calendar — a Peppa Pig one — to help Niall count down the days until Christmas. They had one more surprise for Niall which was actually a teddy but when Niall pressed the paw of the teddy it played messages the boys recorded for them. They thought Niall would like this for when they do leave him, he can hear their voices while they’re gone to calm himself down. Niall was ecstatic with this gift. He sat all morning replaying their voices even though they were with him. Liam found this rather monotonous but found it cute that Niall liked the gift so much.

“Did you have a nice time with the boys?” Louis asked, ruffling Niall’s hair as he sipped on his morning coffee. Niall nodded, although the boys informed him of the fact Niall had scratched himself raw and also had a nightmare. Zayn decided not to tell them Niall slept by the door because they already felt guilty enough.

“We love you Niall,” Liam kissed the top of Niall’s head gently. Niall smiled up at him brightly as he poked his advent calendar, taking out a chocolate which wasn’t even for today.

“Love you too!” Niall grinned as he nibbled on the chocolate.

“Hey, how about we go put up the Christmas tree together?” Louis asked Niall who nodded excitedly, bouncing up and down in his highchair. The boys smiled at Niall, just so happy and excited to spend Christmas with one another. Both Liam and Louis were excited to spend it together as a little family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't update last week, I didn't know how overcome I was going to be with exams and just didn't have the time or energy to write!! Two three hour exams every day for almost two weeks is exhausting ahah! 
> 
> Thanks so much for your support! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!! Let me know what you think down below and as always, love you all lots A ! Xx


	17. Chapter 17

“We gotta go see if Santa left you anything,” Harry said to Niall who was bouncing on his feet, holding Harry’s hand. Liam smiled and opened the door unveiling to Niall the pile of presents which were all around the room. There was a pile for each of the boys as they’d all gotten one another a few gifts although Niall’s pile of gifts surpassed all theirs.

Niall stood shyly at the door, chewing on his fingers as he gripped Harry’s hand tightly. “Go find your presents Ni, which ones say Niall?” Louis asked walking into the room. Niall just looked rather puzzled as he watched the boys, evidently not knowing what was going on. Louis took Niall by the forearm and guided him over to the Christmas tree. “Do these say Niall?” he asked Niall who just shrugged.

“Yes, they do, they’re your presents so you gotta open them!” Liam nudged Niall, feeling a little underwhelmed by his reaction. Niall sat down on the floor then as did all the other boys. They began opening their presents whereas Niall sat staring at his pile. Instead of opening his gifts, he started to cry. All boys glanced at him rather alarmed as he just stared at his presents and cried.

“Niall, what’s wrong?” Zayn brought Niall into his arms as he cried. He immediately buried his face in Zayn’s chest and just continued to cry. All the boys watched rather confused because most people are excited and happy on Christmas morning, especially kids. “Don’t you wanna open your gifts?” Zayn asked Niall, rubbing his back. Niall nodded as he cried, glancing to the pile of presents again.

“Come on, I’ll help,” Louis took one of Niall’s gifts, patting his lap for Niall to come sit on it. Niall did and the two began unwrapping the gift. All the boys watched fondly as Niall’s face immediately lit up when he saw what was inside; the Peppa Pig teddy he had asked for. He squealed and cuddled the box to his chest. He poked Peppa’s belly and she began snorting. Niall giggled before then promptly beginning to cry once more. “Hey, what are these tears about?” Louis asked Niall, gently wiping the tears off of his face.

“Got Peppa,” he cried as he looked down at it.

“Yeah, so you shouldn’t be sad, you gotta be happy,” Louis wiped under his eyes again.

“Santa never gets Niall what he wan’s,” Niall lisped through tears and the boys soon realised that Niall probably never had a proper Santa visit at home as a kid.

“Did Santa ever come to Niall before?” Liam asked curiously and Niall nodded unsurely. “What would he usually get?”

“Socks n’ top,” Niall replied, cuddling Peppa to his chest again. Liam decided not to put it down to the fact his parents were negligent now. As far as he was aware, Niall did have a good upbringing as a child, probably another reasoning to his regressing as he was a somewhat happy child. Liam presumed Niall’s parent’s probably just merely couldn’t afford to buy their kids any toys at Christmas. He knew his parents struggled when he and his siblings were younger. One year, they got second-hand bikes from their neighbour but they were still over the moon with those bikes. Some parents just can’t afford Christmas which probably happened with Niall’s parent’s too.

Niall only paid attention to that gift then and as soon as Louis opened it, he disregarded his other gifts and just sat playing with the Peppa toy. He was just happy with one gift, he didn’t even feel the need to open any more.

“Ni, aren’t you going to open any more of your gifts?” Harry asked when all they boys had opened their presents. Niall shook his head, clutching his Peppa teddy close to his chest. “Why not?” He asked.

“Give toys t’ o’der kids,” he mumbled quietly.

“What do you mean?” Louis asked.

“Santa no come to everyone, give toys to kids Santa no come to,” Niall said which made all the boys coo.

“Aww Ni, that’s a really nice thing to do,” Liam smiled. Niall knew what it was like to wake up on Christmas morning to no gifts so I guess it was no surprise he was happy with just one and was willing to give the rest away to kids who didn’t get any.

“You sure you wanna do that, bud?” Louis asked Niall who nodded without any hesitation. “You don’t even wanna open one more?” Louis asked and Niall shook his head. He just smiled at the boys as he cuddled his Peppa toy.

For the whole morning, Niall played with the one toy he got, finding such amusement from it. When the boys started getting him ready to go for dinner he didn’t want to go. They had planned to have dinner in Liam’s mother’s house as it was the closest and everyone loved Karen. Liam knew Niall was going to be nervous going to someone else’s house now, even with them all there with him.

Liam got Niall into some skinny jeans — _with great difficulty_ — and a shirt — _also with great difficulty_ — as well as soon boots — _the most difficult_. As soon as the boots were on, Niall was pulling them off again and just being a little rascal really. he just merely didn’t want to go anywhere that he had to leave the house. The boys did understand his fears but they couldn’t have him turning into a recluse just because of his father.

“Niall, will you keep your shoes on please,” Louis put Niall’s shoes on him once more. Niall pulled the one he had just put on and threw it directly at Louis, hitting him in the chest. “Niall!” Louis exclaimed. “Don’t be naughty,” Louis said as Niall just folded his arms.

“Come on Niall, please put them on,” Liam sighed, coming over with his jacket. Niall shook his head and then struggled with Liam who was putting his jacket on him. He wriggled in Liam’s arms and kicked his legs at Louis who was putting his boots on him again.

“No!” Niall screamed, another tantrum beginning to bubble to the surface. “Fuck off,” Niall cried which took all the boys back.

“Niall, that’s a very naughty word and you know that!” Louis said, not too loudly to startle or scare Niall but enough for him to know he was in trouble. Niall instantly stopped his wriggling and kicking when he heard Louis’ stern tone. He looked to Louis with wide eyes but then began screaming again when Louis picked Niall up and put him on the naughty step. He immediately crawled out again, only to be put back.

The boys sat feeling rather helpless as they watched Louis repeatedly put Niall back onto the naughty step each time he came out, all the while he was having a complete and total meltdown. “Maybe you’re being a bit hard on him,” Liam said to Louis the sixteenth time he’d put Niall back. The boys watched rather taken aback when Niall began hitting Louis’ chest and screaming, kicking his legs as Louis carried him back again. Liam knew Niall was only acting out like this because he was scared and nervous. He generally didn’t have tantrums unless he was feeling like that. Liam knew Niall’s temperament by now and it was not the almost aggressive side he was showing, this was Niall’s feelings and anxiety coming out in tantrum form.

“Sorwy,” Niall almost screamed the next time he came out but Louis just ignored it and brought him back again. He finally gave in defeat and sat on the step, screaming and crying the whole time and when Louis went back to let him out he found that Niall had actually taken all his clothes off, only sitting in his nappy.

He looked up at Louis through his eyelashes, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks. He immediately cast his eyes away when he saw Louis picking up his clothes, expecting another stern giving out.

“Do you have anything to say?” Louis raised an eyebrow at him. Niall’s eyes filled with tears again and his bottom lip trembled. He threw himself into Louis’ arms, crying an apology into his shoulder.

“How about we get you dressed again and we go see Karen. Maybe you can help her decorate the dessert again,” Louis smiled down at Niall, gently running his fingers through Niall’s hair. He got Niall dressed all the while Niall whined about wanting his pyjama’s. Niall had taken a spite against wearing proper clothes and would only wear pyjama’s and joggers without any commotion.

“Papa,” Niall whined, wriggling in his arms. He then crawled over to the couch where his pyjamas were from when he got changed and he handed them to Louis.

“Niall, you are not wearing a blooming pig onesie to Karen’s house,” Louis said to Niall who immediately began to cry. Liam sensed a temper tantrum about to arise so he rose to his feet, grabbing Niall’s bag and gesturing for everyone to come on. Louis carried a sobbing Niall out to the car. He strapped him in and handed him his Peppa toy and a bottle of formula to shut him up. It did the trick and Niall sat quietly between Harry and Zayn for the journey. When they arrived was when the tantrums began once again.

As soon as Liam took Niall out of the car, he started to scream and kick his legs. The closer they got to the door, the louder his screams got. “Niall, if you don’t stop screaming Santa will come and take Peppa back,” Louis said to Niall which only had him crying harder. Liam gave Louis a glare, like _are you fucking serious?_ He knew Niall was feeling traumatised enough being away from home, he didn’t need Louis’ help upsetting him more.

“Hey, you have to help Karen decorate some more cupcakes today,” Liam said to Niall who just continued to cry.

“Wan’ go home,” he hiccuped which had Liam feeling a little guilty, but at the same time, he knew he had to get Niall comfortable with going out again, they couldn’t allow him to turn into a recluse.

“I know baby,” Liam held Niall to his chest. “We can go home after we have dinner,” Liam told Niall, carrying him inside. As soon as he walked inside, Niall began to panic. his breathing becoming laboured. The imaginary bad man was pressing down on Niall’s chest again. Liam felt Niall going tense in his arms and looked to Louis worriedly as he knew Niall was about to have a panic attack.

“Here Ni,” Louis gave Niall his dummy and teddy. Niall immediately felt himself calm down once he had his comfort items in hand. Liam smiled to himself at the fact they didn’t need to sedate Niall to calm him down this time, they managed to do it on their own.

“Hello Niall!” Karen seemed more than excited to see Niall. Niall glanced up at her with watery eyes but he showed her a small smile when he recognised her, already calming down. Liam felt Niall’s tense soon muscles relax. “Are you back to help me bake again?” She pinched Niall’s cheek who buried his face in Liam’s shoulder then, smiling into it.

Liam carried Niall to the dining room where the boys were setting the table for Karen, helping her get everything ready for the dinner. When dinner was on the table, Liam put Niall in the seat next to him and immediately Niall was whining and scrambling to get onto his lap. He was peering anxiously at Geoff and Liam’s sister, Nicola across the table who were making him feel nervous, even though he’d met them before.

“Niall, sit in your own seat,” Liam hissed which ended in Niall beginning to cry. _Loudly._ Liam groaned as he watched Niall slide off his seat and sit under the table, crying quietly under it. He sat between Liam’s legs, feeling the need to be able to touch him in some way. Liam sighed quietly but decided to leave him there as he wasn’t going to eat anything anyway.

“Niall, sit on your seat and stop messing,” Louis sternly said to Niall who only clung onto Liam’s leg.

“Leave him, he’s quiet,” Liam handed Niall a bottle of formula, knowing it was Niall’s anxiety which had him wanting to hide. After dinner, Karen brought out the dessert which was chocolate cake.

“Niall, do you want some chocolate cake?” Karen asked and suddenly Niall’s head popped out from under the table. She chuckled when she saw him glancing up at her with bright eyes. “You want some?” She asked.

“Yes pease,” he sat up between Liam’s legs, pulling himself up onto his lap. Liam adjusted Niall on his lap so he was facing the table. He then began feeding Niall the chocolate cake, all the while he was glancing around at all the unusual faces at the table. Each time Liam spooned some of the cake into Niall’s mouth Niall put his fingers in his mouth as he chewed, which he had a terrible habit of doing for some peculiar reason.

When he had finished his cake, the boys moved to the living room, soon joined by Karen. “Is this what Santa brought?” Karen asked, gesturing to the Peppa in Niall’s arms. Niall nodded shyly and held it close to his chest, smiling softly at Karen. She knelt down next to him and just as she did, he burped and brought his milk back up all down his shirt.

“Oh, he’s always doing that,” Liam sighed, getting up and retrieving Niall’s bag from the hallway. They’re grown accustomed to Niall getting sick after every feed and just took it as a normality by now.

“Liam, hun, do you burp him after he has his milk?” She asked, wiping around Niall’s mouth with a bib he handed her.

“No, why would I? He’s not a baby, he can burp himself, right?” Liam frowned.

“Well, there's a lot of things he can't do himself now," she pointed out. "That’s what happens a lot when you don’t burp a baby properly,” she said as Liam got Niall’s only change of clothes out of the bag which was a pair of batman pyjamas.

Soon Niall was in a pair of batman pyjamas which left him quite elated to be back in his pyjamas. He hated his skinny jeans, passionately. “Do you like batman?” Karen asked Niall who shook his head. She fake gasped and glanced down at him. “Liam won’t be very impressed, Batman is his favourite,” Karen said. Niall just giggled and smiled up at her.

“Love Peppa,” he picked up his teddy again and held it to his chest. He seemed to be growing very fond of Karen again in such a short space of time, giggling to everything she said. Geoff still seemed to frighten him for some reason and whenever he spoke to Niall, Niall just stared at him with protruding eyes, looking rather terrified. Liam didn’t understand why but then again, he didn’t understand a lot of things that went through little Niall’s head.

When they were going back home, Niall had a big hug and kiss for Karen before they left, seemingly very fond of her. Probably because she gave chocolate cake.

When they arrived home, Niall convinced Harry to play with him, forcing poor Harry to play with his Peppa playset with him. Harry endured a full hour of Niall babbling to himself with the toys and having to do the same. He kept wanting to leave but when Niall was being so adorable, he just couldn’t bring himself to. He wanted as Niall bounced the figures on his thighs, making them hug and kiss and scream. 

It was when Louis came into the room with a fluffy blanket, juice and popcorn for Niall he finally allowed Harry to escape. They all planned to snuggle on the couch together and watch a Christmas movie but Niall had other plans. Niall hadn’t much interest and just sat on the floor with the popcorn and his Peppa toy.

“Peppa!” Niall hit his sippy cup against the wooden floor repeatedly. He evidently wanted to watch Peppa but for once, he wasn’t going to get his own way.

“Niall, we watch Peppa every day, please, let’s watch something different,” Liam said to Niall who whined.

"Peppa," he more sternly stated, frowning to Louis who gave him a warning look, as though telling him now was not the time for tantrums. When Niall realised they weren’t going to let him watch Peppa he just resided in nibbling on his popcorn. When he got bored, he crawled over to the vent with his bowl of popcorn. He then proceeded to push popcorn between the holes in the vent. He took his sippy cup and tipped it upside down, letting it dribble into the vent as well. He had gotten quite a lot of popcorn and juice in before Harry actully noticed that he was doing this. He nudged Louis whose eyes widened. 

"Niall!" He exclaimed. Startled, Niall turned around with big blue eyes to see why he was being called. "What on earth are you doing?!" Louis exclaimed, snatching the popcorn and juice out of Niall's grip. Niall immediately began to sob. "We do not put things in the vent," Louis sternly told Niall, feeling as though he was telling him something he should already know. Sometimes he wondered what little Niall thought were good ideas and where the heck he got them from. "You can go to the naughty step for-" 

"No, give him a chance," Liam sighed. "If he does it again put him in but don't be mean," Liam pouted to Louis. Louis was going to argue but Liam's pout was just far too endearing, he couldn't say no. 

"Fine, but if you do one more thing out of line, you're in that naughty corner, you got it?" Louis asked Niall who immediately nodded. He sniffled quietly as he crawled back after Louis, sitting between his legs and continuing to nibble on the popcorn. 

A little bit later, a concentrated expression covered Niall’s features as he watched the movie, not because he was concentrating on the movie but because he had to poop. A very loud fart was heard from Niall which had all the boys attention turn to him. “Oh Niall, that smells vile,” Louis started laughing from where he was sitting above Niall. Niall didn’t respond because he was too busy pushing. Not long later, another very loud fart was produced as he pushed it all out with quite force into his awaiting nappy.

A few minutes later Niall started crying, glancing around at the boys. A look of guilt covered his features and Niall was sure he was about to be put in the naughty corner for this. Liam’s eyes widened when he saw what looked like poo on Niall’s fingers. “Niall! Did you put your hand in your nappy?!” Liam exclaimed, standing up and going over to Niall who’s face was scrunched up, his mouth open as he wailed. He himself didn't know what just happened but he knew he was going to be in trouble -- or so thought. 

“No, Li, he’s had a blowout,” Louis chuckled from behind Niall. All the boys glanced to Louis with a bemused glance. “His nappy basically exploded,” Louis exclaimed over Niall’s cries. “Used to happen to my sister all the time,” he said as Niall held his hands out to Liam. He knew Liam wouldn't put him in the naughty corner. Liam picked him up and then scrunched his face up when he found it all up Niall’s back.

“Oh, that is disgusting,” Harry was laughing from the couch. Liam just nodded, scrunching his face up as he placed Niall on his hip. Niall nuzzled his face in Liam's neck, hiding it from Louis. If he didn't look at Louis,  he wouldn't be in trouble, right? 

“Let’s get you cleaned,” Liam sighed, walking upstairs with Niall. He took off Niall’s shirt and wiped his back off with some wipes all the whole Niall was crying, seemingly uncomfortable and distressed. Once Liam pulled down Niall’s trousers he found it had not only leaked out the back but also through the leg holes. “Oh gee Ni, you’re never having chocolate cake again,” Liam sighed as Louis came into the room with `fresh clothes for Niall as well as his dummy.

“It’s not the cakes fault, it happens,” Louis chuckled as he popped the dummy in Niall’s mouth, immediately pacifying him. Niall was surprised, glancing up at Louis with blue glistening eyes as he stood above him with a smile. _Why isn't he yelling at me,_ Niall thought. “Surprised it hasn’t happened sooner,” he said as Niall began to cry again when Liam opened his nappy. Dirty nappy changes still made him feel uneasy, even with Liam.

“Shit happens,” Liam chuckled as Louis knelt down and cleaned off Niall’s hands.

“Indeed it does,” he chuckled. He had to admit, he found Liam’s pathetic joke funny. It was probably only because it was Liam who said it.

…

Later, when Niall was in bed and the boys had gone home, Liam and Louis finally had time to themselves. Louis moved closer to Liam and then just cut to the chase, climbing onto his lap. Liam smirked at Louis, placing his hands on the smalls of his back. As soon as Liam’s hands were on his back, he felt tingles going up his spine.

He traced his lips over Liam’s neck, grazing them on his jaw before finally joining their lips. Liam let out a grunt of approval as their lips moved together hungrily. “We don’t get to make out enough,” Louis complained against Liam’s lips. He tangled his hands in Liam’s hair and tugged at it, emitting a groan from Liam.

“Then kiss me more often, I’m all yours,” Liam chuckled.

“We need to get away together, just us two, a weekend with just each other,” Louis grumbled against Liam’s ignited skin as he sucked a mark on his neck.

“What about Ni, though?”

“Harry and Zayn can look after him, don’t we deserve a break?” Louis asked, sucking a little harder. Liam just nodded as his hand ventured to the buttons of Louis’ jeans.

“On the couch?” Louis scrunched his nose, watching Liam’s fingers pull down his zipper once they had successfully undid the button.

“Where else?” Liam asked to which Louis shrugged.

“Beside Peppa though?” He gestured to the Peppa toy Niall had left sitting on the arm of the chair. Liam glanced at it before promptly whacking it, causing it to fall on the floor and begin to sing some monotonous song.

“She’s gone,” Liam chuckled.

“I can still hear her,” Louis insisted.

“Shut up, you’re just being a tease,” Liam pushed him down on the couch, pulling his trousers down with expertise. He’s pulled Niall’s down too many times for nappy changes. Honestly, taking trousers off people in seconds was literally a talent of Liam’s. Although, he much preferred taking them off for the reason he was right now. “All abroad the payne-train,” Liam said which had Louis almost cackling.

“Your jokes are honestly giving me second-hand embarrassment,” Louis laughed. “But I love you and your atrocious jokes,” he pinched Liam’s cheek. Liam slapped his hand away and then quite dominantly began to kiss Louis which took him aback, but he liked it. He liked seeing this side of Liam.

…

A week later the boys had their holiday booked, much to Niall’s distaste. Niall didn’t like the concept of him being left for a whole weekend without his daddy or papa. He thought they were mean for doing this to him. So of course being Niall, he made sure to be a drama queen about it. 

“Ni, pack your toys for us,” Liam said, coming over to where Niall was playing in his playroom. He immediately shook his head and folded his arms across his chest.

“No,” he firmly stated which made Liam sigh.

“Okay, but if I don’t pack the right toys, don’t have a fit,” Liam raised an eyebrow at Niall who then just began to cry.

“Daddy, no,” he cried, holding his hands out to Liam. “No go,” he started to sob which immediately had guilt bubbling in Liam’s stomach. Liam sighed quietly, picking Niall up and holding the sobbing babe to his chest.

“We’ll be back before you know it, Ni, you’ll have fun with the boys,” Liam insisted, although he was futile in convincing Niall who just continued to sob. He sighed and looked to Louis to who watching by the doorway. “I feel so guilty,” Liam sighed.

“I know, I do too,” Louis bit on his lip, coming over to Niall. “Babe, Harry and Zayn will take good care of you. You’ll have fun.”

“Not wif’out daddy n’ papa.” Tears spilled copiously down his cheeks. Louis just sighed and gently kissed Niall’s forehead. He wanted to mollify his anxieties but similarly, they both were well due a little break. After all, they were only going to be gone for two nights.

“You can come on holiday with us next time,” Liam smiled at Niall who just stared at Liam, his lower lip trembling as tears rolled down his cheeks. Louis began packing some toys for Niall, being sure to pack his favourites as well as the bear they had gotten him which played their voices.

When Harry arrived, they got Niall dressed — in his pyjamas, slippers and dressing gown — and handed him his teddy and Peppa toy to take. They gave him a hug and a kiss, all the whole attempting to ignore his cries. It was more than likely going to be a long weekend for both Harry and Zayn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all your lovely comments! You guys always brighten my day! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you thought! See you all very soon! Lots of love A Xx.


	18. Chapter 18

For a full hour after Harry arrived home with Niall he cried. Miraculously, as soon as Harry brought out some ice-cream, Niall’s cries were not long softening. As soon as Harry showed him the bowl, Niall sat up and his cries got quieter. “Oh, so now you stop crying?” Harry raised an eyebrow at Niall as he made grabby hands for the spoon. “You’re some buck,” Harry chuckled as he put a bib on Niall. He placed the bowl on the coffee table and got Niall to kneel next to it while he ate and watched the telly which was, of course, playing Peppa pig.

Harry sent the boys a snapchat of Niall happily eating the ice-cream to assure them he’d calmed down. “Ice-ceem,” Niall held out the spoon to Harry as he recorded him. Harry took the spoonful Niall was holding out to him and thanked him. Niall smiled brightly before going back to making a mess. He had ice-cream splattered all over the coffee table, all down his chin and all over his shirt but meh, it could all be cleaned, Harry assured himself. Harry watched fondly as Niall sloppily spooned the ice-cream into his mouth, hitting his cheek and his chin with the spoon more than he actually got it in his mouth. He knew the boys generally feed him to avoid mess but he thought it was nice to allow Niall the independence of feeding himself, even if it involved a bit of mess.

“Done!” Niall showed Harry the bowl which had been all but licked clean.

“I would congratulate you for eating, but ice-cream isn’t a hard thing to eat,” Harry chuckled, ruffling Niall’s hair gently. He took the bowl to the kitchen and found Niall crawling behind him. “What do you want?” Harry raised an eyebrow at Niall.

“Up,” he got up on his knees and held his hands out to Harry. Harry picked him up and Niall immediately tried to open the cupboard. When he successfully did, he pulled out a packet of Rich Tea biscuits. They were his favourite as a kid!

“Uh, what do you think you’re doing?” Harry pulled the packet out of Niall’s grip, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Bickie!” Niall smiled.

“You just had ice-cream, mister, don’t be greedy,” Harry put the packet back and immediately Niall began to whine.

“Pease 'arry,” he pouted. “One bickie,” he held up one finger.

“Okay fine, but only one,” Harry handed Niall one biscuit. Niall squealed and then happily sat on the floor at Harry’s feet sucking on it while Harry washed the dishes. He sucked until the biscuit went soft before biting the soft bit off which then melted in his mouth. He only finished half of it and left the other half of the soggy biscuit lying on the kitchen floor.

The whole time Harry cleaned the kitchen Niall was sitting playing with his Peppa toy, babbling loudly to it which Harry found quite endearing. He moved Niall to his office when he was finished cleaning so he could keep an eye on him while he did some work on his laptop. He scattered all Niall’s toys on the floor before sitting at his desk. Niall seemed to have more interest in Harry’s laptop though. He crawled under the desk and poked his head up between Harry’s legs, trying to see the laptop.

“What are you doing?” Harry chuckled, pulling Niall’s body up to sit on his lap. Niall squealed excitedly and began hitting his palms against the keyboard. “Oi, calm down,” Harry gently retracted Niall’s hands before they could do any damage. Niall just squealed once more and began bouncing on Harry’s lap, evidently a little hyper from all the sugar.

“Ba!” Niall yelled with a smile, jumping on Harry’s lap again and banging his palms against the desk.

“What is wrong with you?” Harry chuckled fondly as he watched a very excited Niall. “I think you my have had a little too much ice-cream,” Harry smiled, pushing his feet so the chair rolled back from the desk. He gently set Niall down on the floor then, telling him to play, that he needed to get work done.

Niall was playing quite obnoxiously loud with his toys but Harry didn’t mind as long as he wasn’t in his face. He occasionally nodded to Niall when Niall exclaimed something about a toy. He had to admit, he liked seeing Niall so calm and content in his house, it made him feel quite proud.

A while later, he was just finishing up when he noticed the room was actually silent. He turned around and saw Niall’s toys, but Niall was missing. He stood up and called Niall’s name, no response. He went out to the hallway and listened for any sounds to signify where Niall was. The house was silent… too silent. Niall was most certainly doing something he shouldn’t be.

Harry searched the house and his eyes widened when he found Niall. He was in Harry’s bedroom, holding a bottle of Harry’s navy blue nail polish. Niall had painted himself with the nail polish and Harry’s lovely white carpet. His eyes averted to the copious nail polishes sitting next to Niall, all the colours mixed together on the carpet.

“Oh my good fucking God, give me strength,” Harry ran a hand over his face as he entered the room. Niall glanced up at him, his face covered in copious colours of nail polish. He smiled at Harry but it quickly diminished when he saw Harry’s expression and knew he was in trouble. “Niall, I have a great question, why did you think this was a good idea?” Harry asked, kneeling down next to Niall who was glancing at him with protruding eyes. Niall stayed wordless and idle, as though if he didn’t move, he wouldn’t get in trouble.

“Oh my good God,” Harry sighed, gently lifting Niall to his feet. “You do know we do not play with nail polish?” Harry looked down at Niall’s guilt-ridden face. He immediately looked away from Harry. He knew he had done wrong. “Nail polish is not supposed to be on the carpet, now how will I get this off the carpet?” Harry asked Niall who refused to look at him.

“Nail polish remover,” Niall grumbled. Harry just glared at Niall before picking him up and carrying him to the bathroom. He took all Niall’s clothes off, leaving him in his nappy. He set a shivering Niall down on the floor and proceeded to fill the bath with water. He didn’t add bubbles or any of Niall’s toys because now was not the time for playing. He needed to get this damn nail polish off Niall’s body before it dried.

When Harry proceeded to take Niall’s nappy off, Niall began screaming and kicking his legs. He crawled away from Harry into the corner, sobbing loudly. “Niall, come on, we need to clean you,” Harry sighed. Niall shook his head, crying loudly. “Niall, please,” he sighed, already feeling drained by Niall. He didn’t know how Liam and Louis do this all the time.

“Daddy,” Niall cried, hiccuping every few seconds. “Papa,” he buried his face in his knees as he spoke.

“I know Ni, I know you miss them but we need to get you clean. Can you let me do that?” Harry asked Niall who just shook his head again, starting to panic a little. “Hey, hey, don’t panic, look it’s okay, I- look just-“ Harry was really stuck for words and wasn’t sure of how to approach the situation now.

Harry stood, feeling helpless as he watched Niall having a panic attack. He saw his body tense up and his body was shining with sweat. Much to Harry’s relief, Zayn just arrived in the nick of time because Harry thought he was going to have a panic attack himself.

Niall looked around when he felt Zayn picking him up. His heart was palpitating in his chest and everything around him was blurred. He wasn’t sure if it was tears or he was going to pass out — possibly a mixture of both. Niall soon smelled the familiar scent of the sedatives below his nose and he knew they wanted him to drink it. He complied but due to the fact he was struggling to breath, he only drank half of it and then began choking on the drink, spluttering in whoever’s arms he was in. Before Niall knew it, he’d passed out. He hadn’t passed out from a panic attack while being little. Niall only ever had panic attacks this severe as big Niall.

“Fuck, what do we do now?!” Harry panicked, looking down at a limp Niall in his arms.

“Hey, don’t panic, we don’t need two people passed out here. It’s okay, he should come around,” Zayn went to wet a cloth and just as he had it saturated in water, Niall’s eyes were opening again.

“What’s going on?” Niall asked, sitting up and rubbing his head. He squinted his eyes as he glanced around the room, his eyes soon meeting the sodden nappy he was sporting. “Okay, why am I in a nappy?” He incredulously questioned. “Why are you guys here? What’s going on?” His cheeks began to flush as he was obviously embarrassed. Both boys just watched him with wide eyes. Neither knew what to do now. “Why the fuck am I covered in nail polish?” he asked, scrunching his face up in confusion.

“You did that yourself,” Harry quietly spoke. Niall looked at him as though he was deluded. “You’ve been in a headspace,” Harry told Niall. Niall had already put two and two together.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, casting his eyes away from the boys. “Get out, I can clean myself,” he insisted. The boys looked at him unsurely but nodded and left the room. Niall ran a hand over his face before he pulled off his nappy and threw it in the trash. As soon as it was off, Niall tried to stand up but was more than baffled when he actually struggled. He was unable to just stand up and had to pull himself up using the bath. Once standing, he found himself extremely wobbly on his legs. He knew he would never make into the bath himself. Defeated, he fell to floor with a thud. He didn’t really know why, but he just started to cry, feeling rather stressed out if he was honest.

“Niall, are you okay?” Harry came to the floor a few minutes later after hearing Niall’s cries from downstairs. Niall shook his head, covering himself with his hands as he bowed his head and cried. Harry swallowed the lump growing in his throat and walked into the room, not sure if Niall was little or big right now. “Do you need help?” Harry asked tentatively, smiling softly when Niall nodded. Niall tensed up, feeling quite anxious as to see how this situation was going to pan out. I mean, being helped into the bath by one of his best mates? Not one of his finest moments. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t get in himself or even stand, but I guess what you don’t use, you lose. Little Niall wasn’t using the muscles big Niall needed to do things.

Niall was taken a little aback when Harry picked him up with ease. Harry gently set a blushing Niall in the bath and smiled at him assuringly. Harry began gently cleaning the nail polish off Niall with a fluffy washcloth. Niall watched him, big eyes but soon began to relax, oddly enjoying Harry cleaning him. Not in a sexual way, in a ‘I like feeling as though I’m being taken care of’ way.

Harry had just assumed Niall had reverted back to little Niall when he was allowing him to do all this without any commotion and began talking to Niall as though he was little. “Now, we’ll get you all clean in some cosy pyjamas and have a bottle of milk, yeah?” Harry asked Niall who gave him a puzzled glance. Harry didn’t question it and began massaging shampoo into Niall’s hair. Niall’s head was swarming with thoughts, thoughts that were already making him feel rather dull inside. But with Harry’s gentle hands working the shampoo into his head, Niall felt as though he was his child self again and suddenly, those thoughts were slowly disappearing. Niall closed his eyes as he did this, he always loved getting shampoo massaged into his hair as a kid and frankly, nothing has changed. “You’re being such a good boy,” Harry praised, quite surprised Niall was allowing him to bathe him without any commotion as he knew how anxious this made Niall. Niall looked at Harry with half-lidded eyes, before closing them again. Before bath time was even over, Niall could feel himself slowly slipping into his headspace again.

When Harry had finished cleaning Niall, he picked him up with his duck towel, wrapping him up in it and then resting Niall on his hip. Niall let his head fall onto Harry’s shoulder, going slack in his arms. Once downstairs, Harry set Niall on Zayn’s lap as he was already seated on the sofa.

“Hey munchkin, did you have a nice bath?” Zayn asked Niall who nuzzled his cheek against Zayn’s chest. Niall still wasn’t completely in his headspace and was semi-aware of what was going on but he just went with it. Being in Zayn’s arms after a relaxing bath with Harry made him feel safe and secure and made him forget all his worries which was exactly what big Niall needed.

“Are you feeling okay now?” Harry asked, popping a dummy in Niall’s mouth. Niall was a little taken aback but immediately began to suck on the object in his mouth. It felt a little foreign to big Niall, but he liked it.

“I just don’t like being big Niall,” Niall mumbled almost incoherently behind the pacifier before his eyelids shut.

“Wait, Niall, what do you mean?” Harry asked but Niall didn’t respond. Instead, he had fallen asleep. Zayn immediately shook Niall awake, wanting to hear more of what Niall had to say. “Niall, what did you mean by that?” Harry questioned, his eyes searching Niall for more.

Niall just stared at Harry, sucking quietly on his dummy. He had completely fallen back into his headspace again now so they weren’t going to get any more information off him about how he was feeling. Both boys sighed quietly but decided that interrogating little Niall with questions would only confuse and stress him.

“Let’s just get him dressed,” Zayn sighed, rubbing Niall’s chest with the towel before handing him up to Harry who had his change of clothes and nappy ready. He lay a rather dazed Niall on the couch, strapping his nappy on before putting fresh pyjamas on Niall. Niall lay on the couch sucking quietly on his dummy once he was dressed. Harry handed him his Peppa toy which he held above his face and began babbling to behind his dummy. After a few minutes of babbling, he then held it to his chest, cuddling it.

“Aren’t you so cute,” Harry cooed, gently wiping the side of Niall’s face where drool was dribbling down his cheek. “Do you want milk?” Harry asked Niall who just kicked his legs and smiled behind his dummy, fresh drool dribbling down onto the couch where a small puddle of it was accumulating next to Niall’s ear. Niall rubbed his eyes then, still smiling behind his dummy as he did.

“He always seems so much smaller after getting sedatives,” Zayn acknowledged. Harry nodded, gently rubbing Niall’s knees.

“I guess it just really calms him,” Harry said, returning the smile to Niall who was seemingly quite tired now. He started to whimper then, holding his hands out to be picked up. “Gemma wanted us over to see Niall,” Harry said as he puled Niall onto his lap.

“He might sleep in the car then,” Zayn said, watching Niall who was nuzzling his face into Harry’s neck. Their presumptions were erroneous as Niall most certainly did not fall asleep in the car and instead, panicked the whole way. When they arrived at Gemma’s, following Harry, Zayn carried a wailing Niall inside. Inside, Niall continued to cry loudly, he was both exhausted and feeling anxious and all he wanted there and then were his daddies.

“Oh, why he crying?” Gemma cooed, coming over to Niall. She bent down so she was face level with Niall but Niall immediately hid his face in Zayn’s shoulder, crying. “Hey, Niall, I have sweets, do you want some?” Gemma asked Niall, rubbing his back gently. Niall lifted his face from Zayn’s shoulder and glanced at her unsurely, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks. Zayn followed her to the kitchen where she took a bag Haribo’s out of the cabinet. Niall sniffled as he watched her come over. “Want them?” She smiled. The boys both started to laugh when Niall shyly took the bag of sweets from her once she had opened them. He still had tears rolling down his cheeks because frankly, he was still unsure about being around Gemma.

“They might wake him up,” Harry chuckled. They moved to the living room where Zayn sat Niall on the floor beneath his feet. Niall sat chewing quietly on his sweets but only ate three in about ten minutes. His jaw was not accustomed to chewing so much anymore and frankly his muscles had weakened meaning he found it quite strenuous to eat such chewy sweets but he was managing.

Harry prepared a bottle of milk for Niall and as soon as he had it, he went behind the couch to drink it. He was seemingly uncomfortable here and behind sofa’s always felt safe for Niall. “Hey, Ni, could you come out?” Harry asked after a little while. Niall immediately shook his head and cowered even more into the corner. “Ni, please, you probably need nappy change,” Harry sighed, realising he hadn’t actually changed poor Niall since he had a bath hours ago.

“Daddy, papa,” Niall started to cry again, tears cascading down his cheeks and pooling at the side of his mouth. His tears soon mixed with his drool and milk and then began to run down his chin onto the shirt he wore. Niall was feeling rather distraught now, all he really wanted was his daddy or papa. He felt as though they’d been gone forever already when really, they’d only been gone some hours.

“Hey babe, come on, you’re tired. How about you come out for some cuddles?” Harry asked Niall who only cried harder. The only person he wanted cuddles off right now was daddy or papa. They were they only people who could make him feel safe. “Ni, come on, we gotta change your nappy bud,” Harry held his arms out to Niall who only cried harder. He most certainly didn’t want anybody but daddy or papa changing him. Although he was aware he needed a change because around his willy was starting to sting. This only exacerbated the situation for Niall and so he just cried harder. To make matters worse, his tummy was feeling icky as well.

“Hey maybe we should take him home, he seems pretty worked up,” Zayn said, watching Niall who was beginning to pant a little for air. Harry nodded tried to get in behind the couch but he couldn’t squeeze through. Niall watched with wide eyes, watering over. Harry pushed the couch and then walked in, picking up Niall.

“Come on, let’s go home,” Harry said and Niall finally calmed down. He thought by home Harry meant back to daddy and papa but boy was he wrong. Harry took Niall to the bathroom where he lay down a changing mat and put Niall on it. As soon as he opened Niall’s nappy, he felt guilty. Niall’s skin was tainted a red colour and was chaffing in places. God, I fucking suck, Harry thought to himself as he watched Niall cry. Niall would have usually kicked up a fuss about being changed but one — he didn’t have the energy to struggle considering he had no nap and two — his privates were stinging considerably now so he actually did want a change.

Harry was just wiping Niall down when he retched and got sick, almost choking on it from his lying down position. Harry immediately pulled his body up just as Niall got sick down his front again. He stopped crying then, just staring down at his bare thighs. He had to admit, getting sick made his tummy feel better.

“Oh Ni,” Harry sighed, pulling Niall’s soiled pyjama shirt off him. “Do you feel better?” Harry asked as he gently wiped around Niall’s mouth and down his chin. Niall nodded, his eyes drooping in his head. He was beyond exhausted right now. He’d usually had a nap or two by this time of the day but without his daddies here, he didn’t really want to sleep.

Harry quickly cleaned Niall off then got him back in a nappy and his pyjama pants while Zayn cleaned Gemma’s floor. “I think he just misses the boys,” Zayn said as he watched Niall chew on his fingers while Harry held him on his lap.

“Definitely, I assume he’s sick because of nerves,” Harry sighed, standing up with Niall. He wrapped Niall’s bare torso with a blanket and lay him on the couch with his dummy and teddy while he packed Niall’s bag. “Say bye to Gem,” Harry picked Niall up. Niall let his head drop to Niall’s shoulder and he just whined, burying his face in Harry’s neck.

“Do I get a goodbye hug and kiss?” Gemma asked Niall who only began to whine more. She came over and kissed Niall’s cheek.

“Give Gemma a kiss, Ni,” Harry nudged Niall who only began to cry. “Oh, don’t cry babe, we’re going now, I promise,” Harry assured Niall who just continued to cry anyway. It’d been a long and stressful day for him to say the least.

When they arrived home, Niall had been sick again all over himself and the blanket he was wrapped in. He hadn’t fallen asleep on the way back either which the boys were anticipating he would.

The whole time Harry cleaned off a lethargic Niall, he cried for Louis and Liam. “Daddy, papa,” Niall started to scream when Harry tried to change Niall’s nappy. Harry jumped back when Niall started screaming, watching Niall throw a fit with wide eyes. “Niall, babe, calm down, you’re just working yourself up,” Harry went to pick up Niall to attempt to soothe him but Niall promptly punched Harry in the chest. He hadn’t done it intentionally, he just managed to punch Harry whilst thrashing his arms and legs around. Harry understood, though, he understood why Niall was so frustrated right now. If he was Niall, he’d probably be frustrated too.

“Ni, why are you screaming?” Zayn asked, coming over to where Niall was lying on his changing mat screaming his head off. Zayn watched Niall, his face bright right as he sobbed and screamed every few seconds. He kicked his legs and just cried, obviously quite distressed,

“He wants Liam and Louis,” Harry sighed, watching Niall having a complete, total meltdown. They both knew Niall was exhausted by now as well, they were aware he’d usually napped by now but because he’s been so anxious, he wouldn’t.

“Ni, come give me a cuddle,” Zayn pouted, holding his arms out to Niall. “I think we should go cuddle in bed and watch Peppa with some milk and then after sleepies you can FaceTime daddy and papa,” Zayn offered, in the hopes Niall would accept. Niall just continued to cry. He rubbed his eyes which were stinging and being forced to stay open. “Does that sound good?” Zayn asked, gently running a hand over Niall’s forehead which was damp with perspiration. He was sweating all over and even his hair was now damp.

“Zee, wan’ daddy n’ papa,” he cried, feeling as though nobody was really listening to him. Probably another reason he was feeling frustrated. Whenever he asked his daddies for anything they got it right away for him! And now he was asking for his daddies but nobody was taking him to them.

“I know you do buddy, but they’ve gone out for the night, but we’re gonna talk to them after you have your sleepies, yeah? You’re tired aren’t you?” He asked Niall who nodded, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks again. “Yeah, I promise they’ll be home before you know it, okay? Now, how about we go sleep,” Zayn gently lifted a ungrudging Niall into his arms.

He tucked Niall into bed next to him and immediately Niall was wrapped around him. He gave Niall his dummy and Peppa and his milk weren’t even needed to calm him down. His dummy and a gentle back rub did the trick and Niall was asleep within minutes, breathing heavily next to Zayn.

“Are you sleeping there tonight?” Harry asked, stripping down to his boxers to get into bed. Zayn just nodded, asking why. “Cause that’s my bed,” Harry pointed out with a chuckle.

“Yeah and we can share,” Zayn smiled, eyeing Harry’s body as he climbed into bed on the other side of Niall. Harry blushed a little but lay down as Zayn closed his eyes.

Not long later, Niall was awake and sobbing between the two boys. “Wan talk to daddy n’ papa,” he cried to Zayn, rubbing his eyes which were dead in his head. He was exhausted and so was Harry as he’d had him all day. All Harry wanted was some sleep now but he knew he was in for a restless night.

“I know babe, you can talk to them in the morning, yeah?” Zayn gently ran a hand through Niall’s hair.

“Now,” Niall cried, kicking his legs. He rolled over and just cried into Zayn’s chest. It was all really feeling too much for him right now. The fact he was so exhausted but was too anxious to sleep. He hated being away from his daddies because it caused the bad man on his chest to press down a lot harder and a lot more often. He just wished they were home already so that he could just cuddle them.

“Ni, you gotta sleep babe, then you’ll talk to them in the morning after sleepies,” Harry turned around and gently kissed Niall on the cheek. He ran his hand down Niall’s back then, gently massaging it. Niall continued to cry for a while but eventually calmed down and slowly fell asleep, hiccuping through tears the whole time.

At half three in the morning, Zayn woke up and found Niall was no longer in bed. He gently shifted the covers back and tiptoed out of the room, not wanting to wake Harry. He soon heard Niall’s muffled mutters coming from Harry’s office which was just down the hall. He came to the doorway and found Niall hunched over behind Harrys desk with somebody’s iPhone pressed to his ear.

“Daddy, papa, come home,” Zayn heard Niall cry into the phone. Zayn wondered if he’d managed to phone anyone but he knew both boys had a lock on their phone and Niall would never be able to unlock it.

“Miss you,” he whimpered. “Niall sad, come home,” he started to cry louder into the phone. Zayn was going to interrupt but he decided to leave him and let him vent a little. “Pease,” Niall cried before toppling over onto the floor. He dropped the phone and just lay on the floor sobbing.

“Aww Ni,” Zayn came over and picked up a sobbing Niall. He picked up the phone then and found it was his. He soon saw Niall had his shoes on and frowned, realising he must have put them on himself. “Ni, why do you have shoes on?” Zayn chuckled, gently edging them off but Niall screamed, obviously wanting to keep them on.

“No, Ni good boy, he put shoes on,” Niall whimpered quietly. Zayn frowned, confused for a second but then he remembered. He had thrown a tantrum about wearing his shoes the other day and maybe he thought his daddies were still upset about that. Zayn immediately felt bad for poor Niall who just didn’t understand why the boys abandoned him.

He carried Niall downstairs and decided to prepare him a bottle to try and calm him down. He gently bounced a sobbing Niall on his hip as he prepared the bottle. As it heated in the microwave, Zayn walked around the kitchen, rubbing Niall’s back in an attempt to soothe him.

When the bottle was ready, Zayn gave it to Niall, continuing to walk around the kitchen as Niall drank it. Niall only finished half of it when his head was dropping on Zayn’s shoulder, drooling. Zayn then carried Niall back to bed, tucking him in, his shoes still on him. He was surprised when Niall was sleeping again. He had doubts his abilities in taking care of Niall and being able to calm him, but clearly, he was pretty skilled in doing so.

At six in the morning. Niall was awake again, begging Zayn to call Louis and Liam. Zayn and Harry somehow managed to get through two full hours of crying before the boys actually called Niall.

“Hi, Niall! How are you?” Louis asked.

“Papa,” Niall whined. “Come home,” his eyes were already filling with tears.

“Oh Ni, we’ll be home tomorrow morning with lots of cuddles,” Louis assured Niall who only started to cry harder. “We’ll see you super soon,” he heard Liam say. Niall only threw Harry’s phone across the room, sobbing as it hit the wall.

“Niall!” Harry exclaimed and went to got it, quite lucky it hadn’t smashed at the force Niall had thrown it. Niall just folded his arms over his chest as he cried. “Ni, here, talk to them,” Harry handed Niall the phone. He refused to take it and only glowered at Harry. Niall was now angry at his daddies, he was angry that they would leave him and not come home. He didn’t know what he had done to deserve being neglected by them.

“No,” Niall screamed and crawled off. “Mean,” he cried at the door before leaving the room. Harry told them that he didn’t seem to want to talk to them as he was evidently upset they had left them. This made the boys feel even more guilty than they already did for leaving him.

Zayn went after Niall while Harry chatted to the boys but Niall was soon lashing out at Zayn, taking his anger out on him. When Zayn came close to Niall, he was trying to hit Zayn. Zayn knew Niall was not an aggressive person, he knew this was how Niall acted when he was anxious and scared. It was as if if he kicked up enough fuss and hurt the other person first, that he himself wouldn’t be hurt.

Zayn decided he would leave Niall on his own to cool down. He understood his frustration due to the situation. Niall had never been longer than twenty-four hours without at least one of the boys. Of course, he was going to feel anxious in their absence, especially all he’s come through, it was only natural.

Some time later, Zayn decided to check on Niall. He didn’t find him where he had left Niall and immediately began to panic. He searched around the house but Niall was nowhere to be found. “Harry, where the fuck is Niall?!” Zayn asked Harry who shrugged.

“I thought you had him,” Harry frowned.

“No, he was angry so I left him to cool down,” Zayn slowly explained, seemingly rather worried. Harry sighed and stood up, beginning to help Zayn to search the house. They were both fully aware that Niall liked to hide, especially when he felt scared so they literally had to check everywhere in the house. Eventually, they found Niall in the kitchen. He was in the cupboard under the sink.

“Niall, what are you doing in there?” Harry gently pulled Niall’s body out. He lifted Niall onto his hip and carried him to the living room. “You’re a silly boy,” he gently wiped Niall’s cheek where tears had been rolling down. He set Niall on the couch and smiled softly at him. “How about we have a nappy change and some breakfast?” Harry asked Niall who only sniffled, refusing to look at him. Harry found his behaviour rather unusual as Niall looked genuinely guilty but Harry didn’t know what he had done wrong. He didn’t think he wanted to know either.

“Harry, why is there blood on your shirt?” Zayn asked Harry, gesturing to his shirt where there was a small dribble of blood. Harry frowned and looked down, having no recollection of cutting himself. He then remembered Niall’s guilt-ridden face and immediately grabbed Niall’s wrist which surely enough, as soon as he did, Harry felt the wetness against his hand. Blood.

“Niall, oh my God, what did you do?” Harry lifted Niall’s shirt to reveal the cuts Niall had given himself. Harry had to admit, these looked deep and he had no idea how Niall would have managed to give himself these. “Niall, how did you do this?” Harry asked Niall who immediately began to sob. “Oh Niall, why did you do this?” Harry brought Niall’s trembling frame into his arms. He gently rocked Niall back and forth, whispering sweet nothings into his ear in an attempt to soothe him but Niall was not going to be calmed down in any manner any time soon.

Zayn wordlessly got a first aid kit without even being asked. Harry sat Niall on the toilet with the lid closed. They said nothing as Zayn filled the sink up with water and Harry saturated a washcloth in it. He gently wiped Niall’s cuts off which they were bound to sting, but Niall didn’t flinch once. He just stared at the tiled floor blankly. Even when Harry cleaned his cuts with antiseptic, he did not flinch or whimper once and personally, Harry found that to be extremely stingy and uncomfortable. Niall just continued to stare at the floor which Harry was finding rather harrowing by now.

When Harry got a bandage out, finally Niall looked up. “A dressing is better than a bandage, it soaks up the blood better,” Niall said which made Harry jump back. Wait, when had he become big Niall?!

“O-okay,” Harry stuttered and fumbled through a drawer until he found a dressing. He was just opening the package when Niall took it from his grip.

“I can do it myself,” he insisted, putting the dressing on with expertise. Harry watched with wide eyes as did Zayn. Neither of them knew when big Niall had returned, what had caused it or how long he was going to stay. Harry prognosticated big Niall’s stay would be a short one.

“Ni, why did you do this?” Harry asked, gently taking Niall’s wounded hand between both his. Niall just cast his eyes to the ground while Zayn drained the sink of water.

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want to really know the answers to,” Niall responded, not averting his eyes from the ground.

“I do want to know Niall, I wouldn’t ask otherwise,” Harry insisted but Niall just continued to stare blankly at the ground. He didn’t want to speak to anyone, really he just wanted to be left on his own. “Niall, please tell me, I promise, i just want to help you,” Harry pleaded, hoping he could help heal whatever issues Niall had with either himself or things around him but Niall was ungrudging. He did not want to reveal any of his thoughts to Harry and didn’t intend to either.

“You can’t help,” Niall firmly declared. “The only thing that ever does is little Niall,” he said before completely ignoring everything Harry said after that. He desperately tried to get Niall to speak to him, but he couldn’t. Niall was impossible.

Harry was going to leave Niall on his own but last time they did that, he hurt himself, so he gently pulled Niall to his feet, taking his hand to lead him out of the room. Niall was wobbly on his feet though and just held his hands out to Harry. Harry lifted him, still unaware whether he was big or little right now. It made him rather anxious. He assumed because he wanted to be lifted he was little again, but he couldn’t be sure.

“Ni, do you want anything?” Harry asked, setting him down on the couch. Niall just stared at the wall in front of him emotionless.

“He needs a change,” Zayn quietly spoke, coming into the room with a nappy hand. Surprisingly, Niall allowed Harry to change him without a peep. When Harry was done, Niall just wanted to be held. So Harry did that, for hours until he himself had to get up because his legs were dead. Niall would have lain all evening, just being held.

The minute Louis and Liam were told Niall hd hurt himself, they immediately felt even worse than they already did. They decided amongst themselves that they couldn’t leave Niall any longer when it was obviously having such an effect on him.

it was strange, because even though they so desperately wanted a break from Niall when they were away from him they missed him. So bad. For the first few hours they were gone Liam was trying to check on a Niall who wasn’t with them. He’s just become a part of their daily life so without him, things just didn’t feel right. Like yeah, they wanted a break but as strange as it was they like wished he was here.

“Ni, you gotta eat some dinner,” Harry said to Niall who was wriggling in Zayn’s arms trying to get away from the spoon Harry was holding. Niall had barely eaten anything since he’d come here other than ice-cream and he hadn’t actually had proper solid food. He’d only drunk his milk. Generally, the boys gave him a dinner which varied from time to time. Today, Harry only had a small bowl of mashed potatoes for him but Niall was not interested. He always ate them when Louis or Liam gave him them so Harry knew he was just being awkward.

He still was acting a little strange since being big and just wasn’t himself. The boys put it down to the fact he was missing Louis and Liam. All Niall wanted was to be held and if either of the boys put him down he cried until they picked him up again. Harry was a little pleased he wanted to be held by them, though.

“Ni, please eat up,” Harry sighed as Zayn gently wiped around Niall’s mouth with the bib he was wearing as he was drooling as down his chin.

“No,” Niall kicked his legs which made Zayn yelp when he was kicking below his knees. They often forget how strong he still actually is and his kicks are pretty powerful.

“You’re not leaving here until you eat at least five spoons so you best get eating,” Zayn raised an eyebrow at Niall who just started to cry again. He unwillingly began to eat but stopped after no more than ten spoons. He let the last spoonful fall out of his mouth, grimacing his face because he didn’t actually want to eat.

When he was fed, Harry picked him up ready to get Niall dressed to take him to the park. Niall didn’t seem to want to go though and only cried when Harry told him. “Don’t you want to go out and have fun?” Harry asked Niall who only shook his head as he sobbed, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Either way, Harry got Niall into a coat, hat and a scarf as it was cold outside. He then told Zayn he’d be back in a while and began the walk to the park. In his arms, Niall was tense and crying. He didn’t want to be out, he would have much preferred to be in bed, maybe with his daddies. He didn’t like going out anymore and just wished for this weekend to be over.

Harry thought this would get his mind off the boys but instead, he realised it was only stressing Niall out even more. He looked to the pathway and looked to Niall who was sobbing in his arms and decided, maybe they should just cuddle on the couch. With a sigh, Harry turned around and carried Niall back to the door. At the door, Niall started to cough and got sick all down Harry’s back. Harry groaned quietly as Niall cried louder, his coughs getting wheezier as well.

Harry assumed Niall was having another panic attack and so told Zayn to get a sedative ready but when he set him down he soon knew he was having an asthma attack which petrified Harry because they had no inhaler for Niall.

He yelled on Zayn, watching Niall who’s eyes were wide and his hand on his chest. His face was turning a blue tint which scared the shit out of Harry. Harry was just about to call the emergency services when the front door opened and Louis and Liam rushed in to see Niall. Both their eyes widened when they saw Niall coughing and wheezing, a whistling sound coming each time he took in a small breath of air.

“Oh my God, Ni,” Liam rushed over. “Where’s his bag?!” Liam exclaimed.

“There’s no inhaler in it,” Harry handed it to Liam.

“There is, I always make sure he has a fresh one,” Liam opened the bag, reaching into a pocket and retrieving it. He came over to Niall and gently tilted his head back. Niall dropped his mouth open and allowed Liam to give him a few puffs of it. Soon, Liam had alleviated the situation and Niall’s breathing was returning to normal.

“Oh thank God,” Harry placed a hand over his heart. Liam brought a rather traumatised Niall into his arms but was shocked when Niall actually pushed him away. He slid off the couch and then crawled into the corner, folding his arms and glowering at Liam and Louis. He was angry at the boys for leaving him.

Harry left the room to go get changed, considering Niall had puked on him. While he did, Louis knelt down next to Niall.

“Hey mister, we missed you a lot. I’m sorry we left, I love you, you know that?” Louis asked. Niall shook his head and Louis’ expression immediately fell. “Niall, we do love you,” Louis told Niall.

“You leave Niall,” Niall buried his face in his knees and started to cry again. “Niall scared.”

“I know you were baby, that’s why we came back. We weren’t meant to be back until tomorrow but we knew you were upset so we came home,” Louis gently took Niall’s hand into his. He felt guilty when he saw Niall’s arm which had the dressing on it. He gently kissed that and then kissed Niall’s forehead, tears filling his eyes.

“Niall, we’re so sorry for leaving you, we are,” Liam sighed. They probably shouldn’t have left him so soon after what happened but they thought he would be okay. They were wrong.

Niall just cried and threw himself into Louis’ arms. As much as he was angry at his daddies for leaving him, he couldn’t stay mad at them for long because he loved them. He’d missed his daddies so much and frankly, he needed them in his life.   
Louis rocked Niall gently over and back, kissing the top of his head repeatedly as he mumbled apology after apology into Niall’s forehead. They both blamed themselves for Niall hurting himself.

Before they had left they knew Niall needed them in their lives, but what they learned from being away from him was that the acutely needed him in their lives as well. They just didn’t feel complete without him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Thanks so so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave what you would like to see happen next down below, I need some more ideas haha ! 
> 
> I love you all so much and hope you have/had a wonderful day! Thanks for the support! Lots of Love, A Xx.


	19. Chapter 19

When they arrived home Niall was sitting on Louis’ lap facing him. A very giddy Niall was giving Louis kisses. Louis leaned forward to a giggling Niall, trying to steal kisses. Niall covered his mouth and giggled loudly. Louis smiled brightly too, liking seeing Niall so happy again.

“Where are daddy’s kisses?” Liam knelt down so he was face level with Niall. Niall shook his head and covered his mouth. He gave Liam a fake scowl, pretending to be angry at him. “Come on, where are they?” Liam picked Niall up and held him up so he was face level. Liam started to laugh when Niall was just angrily glaring at Liam although, he could tell he was trying not to crack a smile. He pursed his lips and just glared at Liam but only did this for a few seconds before giggling.

“Niall’s papa’s best friend now,” Louis pulled Niall back onto his lap and held him protectively. “You abandoned Niall,” Louis teased and Niall nodded in agreement, folding his arms.

“Now daddy is sad,” Liam started to fake cry. He put his face in his hands and cried which made Niall immediately slide off Louis’ lap and crawl over to him. He grabbed Liam’s cheeks and quickly gave Liam a sloppy kiss which made Liam smile brightly. “Aww thanks Ni, I love you,” Liam smiled as Niall grinned and then sat back down on his bottom, farting as he did.

“Oi, do you need a nappy change, stinky bum?” Louis raised an eyebrow at Niall who just giggled. He crawled over to Louis and sat up on his knees, leaning on Louis’ knees.

“You coming to get changed, bud?” Liam held his arms out to Niall who shook his head. He turned to Louis instead and held his arms out to him.

“Papa,” he said, evidently wanting Louis to change him.

“I’m his favourite now,” Louis smiled as he picked Niall up, feeling rather pleased Niall chose him for a nappy change. He usually only wanted Liam. Liam just smiled and shook his head at Niall, knowing he was only doing this to wind Liam up.

Louis carried Niall to the bathroom, giving Niall an odd glance when he was mouthing at his shoulder. Louis felt the warm wetness of Niall’s salvia soon seeping through his shirt onto his skin. “Oi stop sucking on me,” Louis gently set Niall down on the changing mat.

Louis took off Niall’s wet nappy, rolling it up. He cooed when he saw Niall’s slightly red skin. “This is why you need to tell when you go wee-wee,” Louis told Niall, gently rubbing some cream on his skin. Louis understood though that Niall didn’t realise when he’d gone anymore as he just doesn’t seem to be consciously aware of it.

When Niall was in a fresh nappy, Louis cleared up everything while Niall began scavenging through the cupboard under the sink. “Oi get out of there,” Louis grabbed Niall under his arms and pulled him back. He continued to put everything away and when he turned back to Niall, Niall had pumped soap out onto his hands and on the floor. He was currently spreading it all over the tiles with his hands. “Oh my God, how do you do everything so quick,” He picked Niall up.

Niall just giggled and put his fingers in his mouth and Louis watched his facial expressions change drastically. His smile vanished when he had soap now in his mouth. He grimaced and then started to cry. “I don’t feel sorry for you, you shouldn’t have been messing with the soap to begin,” he raised his eyebrows at Niall who just continued to wail.

“Louis, don’t be mean,” Liam took Niall from his arms. He carried him back to the bathroom where he wiped off Niall’s hands and brushed his teeth to get rid of the taste. “See, daddy is nice to you, aren’t I your favourite?” Liam asked Niall who shook his head.

“No papa!” He giggled and crawled over to Louis. Louis smiled and stuck out his tongue to Liam who just shook his head, laughing softly.

“You’re both teases,” he came over and gently pressed his lips to Louis. Niall watched them kiss before whining for a kiss too, feeling a little left out that he wasn’t the centre of attention. “You’re so demanding,” Liam chuckled when Niall screamed and hit Liam. Liam gave Niall a quick kiss to shut him up, which it did.   
  
“Papa gives better kiss,” Niall wrapped his arms around Louis’ neck, smiling deviously at Liam. Louis just smiled at Liam too, teasingly.

“Okay, well no more kisses from daddy,” Liam said, expecting Niall to cry but he just said okay. Not the response Liam was anticipating. Niall just giggled from Louis’ arms.

…

By Louis’ request, the boys decided to bring Niall to the adult play center again to meet another boy who is much like Niall is, in a headspace as well. He was Louis’ mate's brother and they both thought that the two boys could do with spending some time with somebody like one another.

Niall on the other hand, was not too keen on the idea. His anxiety towards going out has not gotten much better so even the prospect of leaving the house had him petrified.

On arrival, Niall began sobbing. He was clinging onto Louis, resembling a koala and did not want to be put down once they got inside. “Ni, come on, take off your shoes and let's go play,” Liam offered but Niall shook his head, tears running down his cheek.

“You’re usually throwing you shoes at us,” Louis nudged Niall’s cheek. He was hoping for a smile but Niall only stared at the wall, tears continuing to run down his cheeks. Niall reached down, taking off his shoe and then throwing it at Liam. Liam gave Louis a look as though ‘what’d you say that for?’ “Oi, don’t throw things at papa you cheeky lil monkey,” Louis took Niall over to a couch. He set Niall down, taking off his other shoe and his coat. “Come on, let’s play,” Louis lifted Niall to his feet.

Niall was wobbly on his legs and immediately clutched Louis’ hands for support, much like a small toddler. Louis held Niall’s forearms to steady him and walked behind him to the ballpit, quite surprised Niall was actually walking. The thought occurred to him that he never walks anymore, which is why he is as unstable as a baby just learning how to walk.

Once they got to the front of the play area, Niall fell on his bottom and crawled in. He smiled back at Louis who followed him in, deciding to play with Niall while they waited on his mates friend to arrive.

When Louis crawled in, Niall was throwing himself into Louis’ arms. He sat on Louis’ lap, watching Liam through the mesh with his fingers in his mouth. “Daddy!” he continuously yelled until Liam heard him and looked up from his phone. When he did, Niall just covered his face and acted as though he hadn’t called Liam at all. Liam just chuckled and shook his head before going back to looking at his phone. Once again, Niall started yelling daddy again and when Liam looked, Niall dove under the balls pretending he wasn’t there.

“Oi, stop messing,” Liam called over which just had Niall a giggling mess. When Niall got bored of calling Liam, he decided to cause more trouble. Instead, he changed the victim to Louis. He changed his tactics though and started to throw the plastic balls at Louis.

“Stop attacking me,” Louis pretended to cry, covering his face with his hands as Niall had set his target; Louis’ head. Niall just giggled loudly and continued to throw balls at Louis for a few minutes before Louis saw his mate arriving and got out of the ballpit, escaping his attack.

“Hi Oli,” he went over to the man who was holding another man’s hand. This man looking much like Niall does, a dummy bobbing in his mouth and he was bouncing excitedly on his feet.

“Hi Louis, this is Danny,” Oli pushed Danny in front of him.

“Hey bud, I like your green dummy, it’s pretty class,” he told Danny who smiled shyly behind it. “Wanna come meet Niall, play with him?” He asked Danny who nodded excitedly, immediately taking Louis’ hand. It came to Louis’ brisk attention Danny was not shy or anxious like Niall is. Niall would never take a strangers hand, yet alone someone he’s even met a few times.

Louis led Danny over to where Niall was sobbing in the ballpit, probably because Louis left him on his own. “Papa,” he sobbed, holding his hands out to Louis. Louis cooed at him as Danny climbed in next to Niall, all excited to see Niall.

“Hi,” he giggled at Niall who just sobbed louder and held his hands out to Louis. Louis picked Niall up, bouncing him gently in his arms. Danny looked rather offended that Niall didn’t seem pleased by his arrival.

“Ni, this is the boy we told you about, you wanna play, yeah?” Louis said to Niall who just continued to sob. He sighed quietly and got into the ballpit, sitting with Niall between his legs. Niall stared at Danny and just sobbed, poor Danny looking rather startled.

“Here Ni,” he offered Niall his dummy, gently putting it into Niall’s mouth. Louis cooed at how evidently friendly Danny was, how he wanted to make Niall feel better. Niall took it and calmed down a little as he sucked on it. He showed Danny a small smile behind it, which had him rather excited. “Come play?” He held a hand out to Niall. Niall looked at it hesitantly before clinging onto Louis again.

“Go play with him Ni,” Louis urged but Niall only began to cry again.

“Ni, come play,” Danny gently took Niall’s hand in his. Niall’s cries ceased and he glanced down at Danny’s hand. Something must have clicked, it was as though he realised in that moment Danny wasn’t a threat and he wasn’t going to hurt him. Niall nodded, gripping his hand back. He then began to follow Danny through the play area, all the while still sucking on Danny’s dummy.

While the two little boys played, Louis, Liam, and Oli all chatted. The boys all found it nice to find someone they could all relate to.

Some time later, Danny came running for some juice, Niall crawling behind him. “Are you two ready to go home?” Louis asked, gently playing with Niall’s hair as he sucked on a bottle and Danny had his sippy cup. The boys noticed the mental age gap between the two and Danny was definitely a little older — not much but a little. They soon found out he wasn’t full time in nappies like Niall and would actually tell Oli when he needed the potty. During the day he only wore a pull-up for accidents and nappies at night. Whereas Niall was full time in nappies — which the boys had grown accustomed to now.

“No, play more!” Danny exclaimed. Niall giggled and nodded, seemingly quite happy to play with him. Before the boys could protest, the two were headed in the direction of the play area again. Louis knew Niall was tired though and would need a nap soon because he kept rubbing his eyes to wake himself up.

A little while later they heard Niall sobbing from the ballpit. Danny was throwing balls at Niall and Niall was not having it. He just cried loudly until Louis came over and scooped him up. “You’re a little hypocrite, you were throwing them at me before Dan came,” Louis gently wiped under Niall’s eyes. Niall just continued to cry loudly, evidently just tired by now.

“I think we should take him home,” Liam said, taking Niall from Louis’ arms and giving him a cuddle. Niall nuzzled his face into Liam’s neck while poor Danny looked rather disappointed Niall had left him.

Niall sat on the floor with his teddy and dummy while the boys packed up his things. Danny came over to Niall, a contrite expression covering his features. “Sorry Niall,” he gave Niall a hug. Niall just showed him another small smile behind his dummy, as though saying ‘I forgive you’.

“That is too cute,” Louis cooed as he watched the two of them. When Liam picked Niall up to take him home, Niall didn’t seem to want to let go of Danny, the two still hugging.

“No, don’t go,” Danny whined when Niall was picked up.

“Aww, they don’t wanna leave one another,” Liam cooed as Niall started to cry too, holding his arms out to Danny who had seemingly grown conspicuously fond of. “Hey, do you maybe wanna come home with us and have dinner?” Liam offered to Danny who immediately nodded and smiled.

It was soon agreed that he would be picked up after dinner so the boys had a little longer to play. They knew it was good for both of them to get time like this to play with one another. And, they were pretty damn cute together.

The journey home in Liam’s car was a loud one with both boys giggling the whole way, even though Niall was exhausted. He stayed awake, not wanting to miss a minute of Danny’s fun. Forcing himself to stay awake, he giggled as he watched Danny make their teddies play together. For some reason, he found that so amusing.

“You two are silly,” Louis said as he helped Danny out of the car and Liam carried a rather dependant Niall inside; Danny skipping along next to them.

Inside, Niall crawled to his playroom, Danny following and seemingly in awe when he saw it. Niall wanted to play with his Peppa figures but Danny wanted to play with Niall’s sorting games. Louis sat down next to Danny and started to play with him which had Niall watching with a look of envy.

“Papa, look,” he held up his Peppa toy to him, wanting his papa to join in with him.

“Very nice Niall,” he commented before turning back to Dan who was sorting out the shapes. Niall scowled at both boys, feeling as though his papa was ignoring him. That, mixed with the fact Niall was already tired had him beginning to cry. When Louis ignored his quiet cries, he began to cry a lot louder. “What’s wrong with you?” Louis raised an eyebrow at Niall.

Niall screamed and then threw his Peppa toy at the wall before continuing to cry. Louis sensed a temper tantrum on the rise and gave Niall a warning glance. He knew Niall probably didn’t like the fact he was actually spending time playing with another little boy.

“Niall, come join us,” Louis offered, patting the empty space next to them. Niall decided not to fight and knew his best option was to join. He crawled over but protectively sat on Louis’ lap as though to reinstate that it was his lap to sit on and would never be Dan’s. Louis watched with a fond smile, seeing Niall’s jealous side, even at the thought of his daddies spending time with anyone else. He found it rather cute.

As he sat on Louis’ lap, watching the two boys he grew rather sleepy and found i arduous to keep his eyes open. His head was drooping and he was drooling onto Louis’ arm which was wrapped around him.

“i think these two little boys are in need of a nap,” Liam said, coming into the room and cooing at Niall who was already half asleep in Louis’ arms. Liam picked up Danny who he noted was slightly heavier and more difficult to lift than Niall but he was still manageable.

They carried the two upstairs and managed to fit both of them in Niall’s crib. Liam put Danny at the bottom and Louis put Niall at the top but before they had even left the room, Niall had crawled down to the bottom and began cuddling Danny. They cooed as they watched them wrap their arms around each other. Niall nuzzled his face in Danny’s neck and the two soon fell asleep.

A while later both boys were standing in the crib, Danny independently but Niall was holding onto the side. They were bouncing up and down and basically just screaming. When Louis entered, Niall was on top of Danny as he’d toppled over and brought poor Danny with him. The two boys were just giggling though, evidently neither of them were hurt.

“What are you two up to?” Louis chuckled. He took Danny out first as he knew he could walk. When he did, Niall started to cry and scream, not happy that Louis chose Danny first. He kicked his legs and screamed as Louis set Danny on his feet. “Oi, calm down you little diva,” Louis picked up Niall. He placed him on his hip and got Danny to follow them to the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom, Danny informed Louis he needed the potty. Louis set Niall down and went about helping him and as soon as he did, Niall was crying. When Louis ignored him and continued to help Danny, Niall decided a different tactic. “Need potty,” Niall told Louis. Louis turned and raised an eyebrow at Niall.

“Niall, you’re wearing a nappy,” he reminded Niall. He knew Niall only wanted attention because Niall never knew when he needed the potty anymore.

“Need potty!” Niall yelled, seemingly agitated. It was obvious to Louis Niall was just showing jealousy again.

“Oh, what’s going on?” Liam asked, coming into the room. Louis told him Niall wanted to go potty which made Liam frown. Niall never asked for the potty anymore. “Okay, come on,” Liam gently picked Niall up. He pulled his trousers down and untaped his nappy before setting Niall on the potty in the corner of the room. Niall was watching Louis with Danny, sitting breathing heavily. “He doesn’t need the potty,” Liam chuckled after a few minutes of watching Niall. Louis nodded and smiled over at Niall as he helped Danny into another pull-up.

“Ni, come play now!” Danny said excitedly.

“I have dinner ready for you two,” Liam said, grabbing a nappy for Niall.

“No,” Niall whined when he saw Liam coming over with it. “Wan’ that,” he pointed to the pull-up Danny was wearing.

“Niall, you’re too little for a pull-up, babe,” Liam said as he picked him up but Niall was adamant he was going to wear one too and cried until the boys let him. “Okay, fine you can have one,” Liam went to find some of the ones Harry had actually gotten for Niall when he first arrived here. He knew Dan’s would be too big on Niall. Liam slipped one up Niall’s legs and let him pull it up fully himself. As soon as he was on, Niall excitedly went over to Danny to show him that they were now matching.

“Right, come on dudes, it’s dinner time,” Liam carried Niall downstairs and held Danny’s hand. He got Niall into his highchair and sat next to him with a bowl. Louis helped Danny by cutting up his food for him. He was eating the same as the other two boys were as Niall was only having some mashed potatoes, which he showed little interest in. Instead, he was swayed to the left where Louis was feeding Danny, wanting his food instead.

“Niall, eat your own,” Louis pushed Niall’s hands away when he was trying to grab food off the plate. He instinctively began to cry because well, his daddies usually gave him whatever he wanted whenever he cried. “Niall, stop that crying and eat your own,” Louis snapped which just made Niall cry harder.

“Here Ni, don’t cry,” Danny said and gave Niall one of his pieces of chicken. Niall immediately calmed down and sat back in his highchair quite contently. “Can I have some of yours?” He asked Niall who shook his head at first but then changed his mind when Danny pouted. Niall took the spoon from Liam’s hand and spooned some over to Dan, feeding him. The boys had to admit, it was pretty damn cute watching them feed one another.

Niall found it rather difficult to eat the chicken, though, he struggled to break it up himself and also struggled to chew on it. It took him a whole fifteen minutes just to eat half of it and by then, everyone else had finished eating and he just gave up.

He grew rather frustrated then that he couldn’t do something simple like that and started to cry again. Louis cooed and picked him up, bringing him to the living room and giving him a bottle of formula. Niall watched from the couch where Liam was playing with Danny.

“Cuddles,” he mumbled behind his bottle, causing milk to dribble down his chin onto the bib he wore. He held his arms out to Danny who grinned and climbed up on the couch next to him. The two wrapped their arms around one another and cuddled while watching Peppa Pig. Louis and Liam found this adorable and of course snapped some pictures.

Some time later, Oli was arriving for Danny and Niall was in Louis’ arms being burped. They learned that he tended to get sick a lot less when they burped him, which explained a lot. Louis gently rubbed his back, tapping it every few seconds as well until Niall produced a burp. When he did, the boys clapped for him which had him all giddy.

“Niall, say bye to Danny now, he has to go home,” Liam said to Niall. Niall was set on the floor and he crawled over to Danny, giving him a hug.

“Ta-ta,” he waved to Danny who looked rather sad to be leaving.

“Give him a kiss Ni,” Louis nudged Niall who had no protest. He leaned forward and gave Danny a quick peck on the lips like he gives his daddies. The two grew extremely giddy which had all the boys laughing.

As soon as he left, though, Niall’s mood changed and he seemed rather despondent. He sat on the floor staring between his thighs rather sadly. “Wan’ Dan back,” Niall pouted, pulling at a thread on the carpet.

“Aww, he’ll be back another day babe,” Louis cooed, picking up Niall and giving him a cuddle. Niall clung to Louis, wrapping his arms around his neck. Niall was wriggling in his arms, his pull-up causing him discomfort. It wasn’t like his nappy, it didn’t soak everything up and left Niall feeling cold and yucky. He didn’t know how to tell the boys this so instead he just cried, hoping somebody would change him. “Oh, you need a change don’t you?” Louis felt the pull-up leaking slightly.

Upstairs, he pulled the soaking pull-up down Niall’s legs before taking a wet wipe. Niall shivered when Louis began wiping the residue of urine off his groin area and inner thighs. “Do you want another pull-up?” Louis raised an eyebrow at Niall, wondering what he was going to choose now he’d experienced the pull-up.

“Nappy,” Niall sniffled, sucking on his thumb as Louis gently lifted his legs up and slid a nappy under his bum. He pulled it up between Niall’s legs and taped it shut, patting Niall’s crotch gently to signify that they were ready. Niall sat up and tiredly rubbed his eyes. It’d been a long day for little Niall.

…

Louis woke up during the night and frowned when he didn’t find Niall lying in bed next to them. He immediately panicked and stood up as quietly as he could so not to wake Liam. Liam would panic twenty times more than Louis would.

He rubbed his eyes as he walked out of the room and frowned when he saw Niall sitting at the bottom of the stairs with his face in his hands. Louis quickly sprinted down and sat next to him, instinctively wrapping an arm around Niall. Niall pushed him which had Louis giving him a bewildered glance.

“Niall, babe, what’s wrong?” Louis asked, trying to take Niall’s hand in his but Niall slapped Louis’ away.

“Why do you care?” Niall asked, turning to look at Louis. Louis’ eyes widened for two reasons one) because Niall spoke and two) Niall’s face was tear stained.

“Niall, why wouldn’t I?” Louis looked slightly hurt that Niall would even ask that sort of question. “Niall, tell me how you’re feeling, what’s wrong?” Louis’ heart was beating incessantly in his chest. He himself had never encountered big Niall on his own so he was intrigued to see how this would go.

“Lou, do you love me?” Niall asked, a tear rolling down his cheek. “Not like a boyfriend but like a-“

“A parent?” Louis finished for Niall who nodded silently. He looked away and stared at his lap, tears falling onto his thighs. “Of course I do Niall, I love you so much,” he gently pulled Niall into his arms and this time, Niall permitted it. Niall rested his head on Louis’ chest, sniffling quietly into it. Now he had the reassurance, he felt more at ease. It had been all he wanted to know, that someone actually did care for him. “And Liam loves you lots too,” Louis told Niall who looked slightly puzzled for a moment before nodding.

“You would never let anybody do anything to me, right?” Niall asked, glancing up at Louis curiously.

“No, nothing that would hurt you or make you upset,” Louis replied. He took a moment before speaking again. “Why are you asking this all of a sudden?” He asked Niall, gently pressing his lips to the top of Niall’s head.

“I had a nightmare,” Niall quietly told Louis.

“Yeah?” Louis asked, gently rocking their bodies back and forth, his lips still pressed to the top of Niall’s head. “What was it about?” He asked Niall who seemed rather hesitant in answering.

“Da,” Niall quietly replied, as though he shouldn’t be telling. He subconsciously took Louis’ hand in his and squeezed it tightly. “What he let them do to me,” Niall quietly said, tears falling rapidly onto his thighs. He refused to look up at Louis, unable to look him in the eyes.

“What did he let who do to you?” Louis asked, frowning down at Niall.

“I can’t say,” Niall replied before going silent.

“Niall! Tell me who did what to you? What did they do? Did they hurt you?” Louis asked, moving Niall and forcing him to look at him. Niall just stared blankly at Louis and didn’t open his mouth once more. “Niall, tell me,” Louis pleaded. Niall just lay limply in Louis’ arms, staring at the wall in front of them. Louis was sure Niall hadn’t fallen back into his headspace yet and was just being adamant he wasn’t going to tell Louis whatever it was he was keeping from them.

Whatever it was Niall wouldn’t tell him, he wanted to know to help, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure if he did want to know. God only knew what it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter maybe isn't as long as usual, I was ill this week so I didn't have as much time to write but I still wanted to get something up! 
> 
> Thanks for all the lovely comments on the last chapter! I love you all so much! Please leave some suggestions down below of what you'd like to read/see happen! As always, hope you have a wonderful day lots of love, A Xx.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I haven't edited this yet so please excuse any mistakes!

A few weeks later the boys had a holiday booked. All five of them were going on holiday together. They thought it’d be nice to take Niall somewhere that he might actually enjoy; a waterpark.

When they told Niall, they were surprised he was actually excited to go. He helped to pack his backpack to take on the plane and was bouncing around the whole time. The boys presumed it was the fact everyone was going which kept his anxieties at bay. And the prospect of getting to play in the water.

For the plane journey, they brought along various things to attempt to keep Niall entertained but he proved to be no less than fussy. Although they were in first class, they still felt as though everyone was staring at them; in reality, nobody was paying any attention to them.

Niall was sat on Louis’ lap, smashing two blocks together. He was rather agitated and bored and just wanted to get off the plane. His ears were hurting since takeoff, he was too warm and to top it all off, he was wet. Louis gently pulled the bricks from his hands when he was drawing too much attention to himself. “Shh, calm down,” Louis popped a dummy into his mouth. The were just hoping he would relax and settle down for a nap but with throbbing ears and a wet nappy, growing more uncomfortable, sleep was not in Niall’s mind. They couldn’t change him on the plane either as the bathroom simply wasn’t big enough to lay Niall down.

Louis settled Niall down on his lap and held the bottle in Niall’s mouth but he was ungrudging. He wouldn’t drink it and the milk which was dribbling into his mouth through the nipple, Niall just allowed to let it dribble out of his mouth down his chin. “Come on, relax Ni,” Louis gently rubbed Niall’s thigh. Niall just looked up at Louis with watery eyes. Louis was surprised he wasn’t crying but he seemed like he was about to any minute.

“Hey, come to daddy,” Liam held his arms out, taking Niall in the hopes he could finally calm him. Liam held him close to his chest, gently slipping Niall’s dummy back into his mouth. Niall began to cry very quietly behind it, as though he wasn’t trying to draw too much attention to himself but he wanted Liam to know he wasn’t comfortable. Liam sighed quietly and began gently rocking Niall’s body up and down in an attempt to soothe him. After a few minutes, Niall stopped crying and instead stared at Harry who was seated next to Liam. A concentrated look was covering his features and Louis and Liam both knew what this look was by now.

“Is he okay?” Harry asked, rather concerned.

“Well, that’s his pooping face,” Liam quietly said. He had the slight hope he didn’t need to because it was merely impossible to change him on this plane and frankly, he didn’t want Niall stinking the place up but if he had to go, he had to go.

Surely enough, Niall was filling his nappy. This was confirmed when he lifted his bum slightly from Liam’s lap to accommodate the load. Liam gently played with Niall’s hair to distract himself while soft grunts were coming from Niall. His cheeks were slightly red, balled fists and tense body as he pushed everything out. He fell back down onto Liam’s lap after a few moments when he was done, finally relaxing when he started to pee again. Liam could feel Niall’s nappy warm against his thigh and just prayed to God the nappy would hold all his wee. For now, it did, although they were close enough to landing so he suspected they would make it with no leaks.

More uncomfortable than ever now, Niall now began to cry a little louder and despite Liam attempting to hush him, he continued to cry. Liam held Niall’s dummy in his mouth, bouncing him up and down whilst glancing around rather fretfully.

“Here, I’ll take him,” Harry held his hands out for Niall. Liam handed him over and immediately put his face in his hands. He just felt as though this holiday was going to be stressful.

About five minutes later, Niall was completely calm in Harry’s arms, gurgling quietly behind a teething ring. “How did you do that?” Liam asked, finally lifting his head from his hands.

“His ears were hurting because of the plane ride,” Harry responded watching Niall chew on the ring. The boys had gotten him some teething rings because Niall seemed to prefer to chew on toys these days rather than actually play with them.

“Wait, how did you know that and I didn’t?” Liam was shocked Harry knew what was wrong with Niall.

“He kept holding his ears, it was obvious,” Harry smiled, exceptionally proud he had calmed Niall down. “So chewing helps his ears pop,” Harry explained.

“Jeez, he’s all yours for the next few days,” Louis said, looking over quite taken aback Harry calmed Niall so quickly. Harry smiled brightly, glancing back down at Niall who was rather content in his arms now.

When the flight landed, Louis took Niall from Harry ready to rush off the plane to a proper bathroom to change Niall. The rest of the boys went and collected the bags while Louis change a rather uncompromising Niall. He kept wriggling and only for the fact his walking skills have deteriorated Louis knew Niall would have been up running around the bathroom. As soon as Louis finished wiping his bum, he turned to get a nappy out of the bag and Niall had rolled over on his tummy. He pushed himself up using his hands before quickly crawling off.

“Niall, get back here,” Louis stood up and grabbed Niall’s leg, dragging him back to the mat. Niall crawled off immediately again and then used the handle of the door to pull himself to a standing position. “Walk to papa then,” Louis held his arms out to Niall who shook his head. He giggled and bounced on his feet, putting his fingers in his mouth and chewing on them.

Louis groaned and walked over to Niall, grabbing his hand and leading him back. Niall wobbled but managed to walk over which had him rather excited. “You’re a little monkey,” Louis said as he lay Niall down again. Niall just giggled with his fingers still in his mouth. Louis gently withdrew them— along with a string of spit — before replacing them with a dummy. He quickly went to work about getting a new nappy on Niall, putting his joggers back on him. By the time he had everything packed back into Niall’s bag, Niall had his joggers off again. “Niall, put them back on,” Louis sighed.

“No,” Niall crawled to the door and pulled himself to his feet again.

“Please Niall, you can take them off when we get out of the airport,” Louis sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. Niall shook his head, standing his ground. Louis groaned because he knew Niall couldn’t be carried around the airport in a nappy.”Niall, you’re putting them on,” Louis sternly said to Niall. He grabbed Niall under his arms, dragging him back and forcing Niall into his joggers, all the while he screamed. Louis picked up a now rather agitated Niall, meeting him outside where the boys were waiting for them.

“Aww, what’s that face for?” Zayn cooed, taking Niall from Louis’ arms. Niall looked at him, a red tear stained face and watery eyes.

“He doesn’t want to wear his trousers,” Louis informed Zayn as they walked to the rental car.

“Then he doesn’t have to,” Zayn replied. He set Niall in the car and before he could even get his belt on him, Niall had his trousers off again. Zayn smiled fondly and got in next to him. Louis just sighed quietly, not wanting this to become a habit for Niall because the lad needed trousers if he was going to be going out.

The drive was thankfully quick to the complex they were staying in. They had an apartment booked which had a waterpark in it. It was a more expensive, upper class one which meant it wasn’t as busy or crowded with kids which was a good thing for them with Niall.

When they arrived, Harry took Niall who was rather fussy again and calmed him down. Once he had done that he fed Niall his bottle while the other boys set up Niall’s travel cot in Louis and Liam’s bedroom, although they prognosticated he would be doing very little sleeping in it but it was worth a shot.

When they returned Niall was draped over Harry’s shoulder being burped. When he succeeded Harry praised him. Niall giggled and put his fingers in his mouth, smiling behind them.

“Oh, are you a happy boy now?” Louis asked, taking Niall from Harry’s arms. “You really love Harry, don’t you,” Louis smiled, placing Niall on his hip. Niall giggled and smiled at Harry. “Say goodnight to him because you’re going to bed,” Louis patted Niall’s bum.

“Night,” Niall waved to Harry before leaning forward to give him a kiss. Harry didn’t get the memo and had no idea what Niall was trying to do.

“He’s giving you a kiss,” Louis told Harry who then leaned forward and let Niall give him a quick kiss. “Give Zayn one too,” Louis said as he walked past him. He held Niall out to him and Niall quickly kissed him too before giggling.

Louis came back downstairs a while later after changing Niall and tucking him into his cot. He wasn’t too pleased about being in his crib but he didn’t protest. Louis anticipated a protest when they went to bed, though, he knew Niall will want to be in bed with them.

All the boys had a beer together before the went to bed. They felt a little bad Niall couldn’t be included. It was times like these they actually missed big Niall because frankly enough, he was a hilarious drunk and he always made for a good time. At the same time though, they loved little Niall as much as they love big Niall… maybe a little more.

With a few drinks in them, Harry and Zayn found themselves moving closer and closer to one another. Surely enough, Louis and Liam were soon making out, gently moving their lips against one another. The other two boys were watching them, rather hungry for a cheeky make-out session themselves. Zayn turned his head and glanced at Harry. Harry’s eyes were glued on the two boys, watching them now kiss a little more hungrily.

Zayn gently placed his hand on Harry’s knee, causing Harry to jump and look at him. Wordlessly, he placed his index finger under Harry’s chin, adjusting it so he was looking up at Zayn. Both boys smiled shyly before leaning in. Zayn tangled his hands in Harry’s hair as they made out.

Soon, it was Louis and Liam watching them as they moved their lips together, Zayn’s tongue deep inside Harry’s mouth. “Jeez, go get a room guys,” Louis said as he sucked a mark on Liam’s neck.

“Right back at you,” Harry grumbled. Liam chuckled, gently playing with Louis’ hair as he marked his territory.

…

The following day, the boys were getting ready to take Niall to the pool for the first time. Louis got Niall into a swimming pull-up and then into some shorts. Niall didn’t want to have the shorts on, not surprisingly.

“Niall, if you want to swim you can swim without your shorts otherwise you’ll drown and die,” Louis told Niall who immediately began crying. “Stop crying, as long as you have the shorts on you’re grand, you won’t die,” Louis said as Harry held his hands out to Niall.

“Come on, we’ll go play,” Harry picked Niall up, placing him on his hip. Niall sniffled and rest his head on Harry’s shoulder. The boys all went down to the pool and found it was virtually empty bar two people. This was perfect for them.

Zayn took Niall into the water first, letting him get a feel for it as he held him to his chest. Niall didn’t seem to take to it though and started to cry, gripping Zayn. “Oh, don’t cry, Ni it’s fun,” Zayn gently splashed the water which only caused Niall to cry harder. He wrapped his arms around Zayn’s neck and just cried, wanting out.

“Ni, come down the slide with me,” Liam took Niall from his arms. He bought Niall over to one of the kids slides and went down it with Niall. Niall screamed and only screamed louder when they hit the water. For some reason, Niall was petrified of the water.

“Ni, don’t be scared,” Liam propped Niall up so he was sitting in the shallow water. The water only reached Niall’s waist, him sitting in the water but he still continued to sob loudly.

“Jesus Niall, you’re a little drama queen,” Louis rolled his eyes as Niall sobbed, evidently not wanting to be in the water.

“Papa,” he cried, holding his hands out to Louis. Louis scooped him out of the water and placed him on his hip.

“What’s wrong, mister, why don’t you like the water?” Louis asked Niall whose cries turned to sniffles once he was in Louis’ arms. Niall’s eyes then averted to Zayn and Harry who were coming down one of the largest slides. Niall watched, seeming rather awe-stricken as he watched them plummet into the water from the slide. He started to giggle when they emerged from the water, out of breath.

Niall wriggled in Louis’ arms until he was let down and as soon as he was, he was crawling over to the slide the two boys had just come down. “No way, you’re too little for that slide,” Louis caught Niall under his stomach and picked him up with ease. Niall began crying, wriggling in Louis’ arms once again to be let down.

“Ah Lou, let him,” Liam came behind Louis, wrapping his arms around him from behind.

“I don’t want him to scare himself,” Louis said, feeling a little protective over Niall.

“I’ll take him,” Zayn offered, holding his hands out for Niall. Niall reached over, giggling as Zayn brought him into his arms. Niall stuck his tongue out at Louis who just shook his head with a small smile.

Louis watched closely, wanting to be sure if he had to jump in and get Niall when they reached the water, that he was ready. Zayn carried him up the stairs and then got on the slide with Niall between his legs. The two then began to slide down, Niall giggling loudly the whole way. When the plummeted into the water, Louis expected Niall to freak out being submerged under water but a few seconds later he emerged giggling loudly.

“Again!” Was all Louis could hear Niall yelling. He smiled fondly and for the next hour, both Liam and himself sat on the pool chairs together watching both Harry and Zayn take turns taking Niall down the slide.

Each time Niall hit the water he was squealing excitedly and giggling, the water no longer scaring Niall. When the slide got monotonous he then began to have a splashing fight with both boys but only started sobbing when they actually proper splashed him. The boy can give but he can’t take.

“You big baby,” Zayn brought Niall to his chest, holding him against it. Niall sniffled, folding his arms across his chest. “I’ll protect you!” He yelled when Harry splashed then again, only causing Niall to scream and cry harder. He screamed and angrily smashed Harry again, tears running down his cheeks. Louis was watching from the pool chair with his beer and he knew Niall was needing a nap by now.

“Harry don’t, he’s tired,” Liam said when Harry was going to splash a rather exhausted and agitated Niall.

“I’m sorry Ni,” Harry brought Niall into his arms. Niall just continued to cry so Liam came over with a towel, handing it to Harry who took Niall out of the pool, wrapping him in the towel.

“You need a nap, don’t you,” Liam cooed, taking wailing Niall from Harry. Niall shook his head, not wanting to have a nap because he was having so much fun in the pool. “Niall, stop, you need a nap,” Liam sighed when Niall was crying in his arms, trying to get down to get back in the pool. Liam glanced around to see if anyone was watching but the people who were present in the area were surprisingly paying no attention to Niall.

“Play,” Niall cried as Liam carried him upstairs to the apartment.

“You can play again after you have a nap, you’re exhausted babe,” Liam gently rubbed soothing circles on his back. He carried Niall to their bedroom and changed him on the bed. Niall attempted to get off it but Liam was much stronger than him. “Shh, calm down,” Liam popped a dummy in Niall’s mouth and gave him his teddy. Niall rubbed its matted fur against his cheek which immediately calmed him.

Liam dried Niall off and got him into a nappy. He didn’t put any clothes on Niall as it was warm enough here he didn’t need them and Niall preferred not having any on. Liam got Niall into his travel cot, tucking him up with his Peppa toy and teddy. He gently kissed Niall’s forehead before leaving the room.

As soon as he did, Niall’s cries began. He despised being in his cot, as he conveyed to the boys to night before with a full hour of screaming in it until they finally gave in and took him into bed with them out of sheer exhaustion.

Liam just lay on the couch desperately trying to ignore Niall’s cries and not give in but it proved to be an arduous task. He hated hearing Niall upset but he knew Niall couldn’t get his own way all the time and he can’t be sleeping in bed with the boys forever. It’s a bad habit for him and it separates the two boys. Their bed here was a lot smaller than at home and it was a squash last night with Niall.

“Why is Niall crying?” Harry asked when he came into the apartment.

“Cause he’s in his cot and he doesn’t like it,” Liam sighed, running a hand through his hair. He felt rather guilty doing this to him but it was better if he did. “He needs to sleep in his cot but its so hard,” Liam groaned, covering his ears with his hands in an attempt to block out Niall’s cries.

“Let’s just wait another twenty minutes and if he’s not calmed down by then we can go get him,” Harry told Liam who nodded, feeling a little more assured. The boys sat together, watching the telly in an attempt to ignore Niall’s cries from the room. Surely enough though, fifteen minutes later the exhaustion took over and he had cried himself to sleep.

Liam edged the door open to check to be sure he was asleep and he found Niall curled up in a foetal position in the corner of the cot, sucking on his thumb while he slept. He gently pulled the covers up over Niall’s body, leaving a delicate kiss on his cheek before leaving.

“He’s sleeping in the cot,” Liam proudly told Louis who had just come back upstairs.

“Really?!” Louis actually appeared rather astounded but impressed Liam had managed to get Niall to sleep in it. “You’re so good with him,” Louis gently pressed a kiss to Liam’s lips before sitting down next to him.

A while later Niall was awake again. Louis went into the room and found Niall gurgling quietly behind his dummy, seemingly quite content. “Did you have a nice nap, mister?” Louis cooed. Niall giggled and held his arms out to be picked up. “Are you all full of energy now to play lots?” Louis asked, placing a giggling Niall on his hip.

He brought Niall to the kitchen, putting him into the highchair. Niall smiled at the three boys standing around as Louis put a bib on him. “Are you less grumpy now?” Harry asked, kneeling down next to Niall who giggled with his fingers in his mouth.

Louis sat down next to Niall, beginning to spoon the puree he made for him into his mouth. With each spoonful, Niall’s fingers were in his mouth while he chewed. Louis never understood this habit, he just assumed Niall liked making a mess.

Louis set down Niall’s bowl on his tray when their takeaway had arrived. He went and got his own on a plate before returning to Niall and when he did, Niall was feeding himself. Instead of using the spoon sitting in the bowl, Niall was using his hands. Each hand had a generous amount of puree in it which he was shoving to his face, getting more on his face than he actually managed to get successfully in his mouth. Louis decided to leave him to it because it looked pretty adorable.

Niall’s sticky hands grabbed his bottle sitting on the tray which he drank for a few seconds before going back to scooping up more food with his hands. He squashed it between his fingers and watched it fall in pieces onto his stomach and thighs.

“Messy boy,” Zayn said, watching Niall scoop more up and drop more on his stomach and thighs than he actually got in his mouth. Niall giggled as he scooped up what was left in the bowl, trying to be careful but he still splattered it everywhere.

“Somebody needs a bath,” Liam said, coming over with some wipes as Niall picked up his bottle and started drinking it again. Liam wiped around Niall’s mouth but then gave up attempting to clean him, it was futile. The boy needed a bath.

Niall pulled the bottle from his mouth, milk dribbling down his chin onto his bib. He squealed, kicking his legs happily. “You want a bath?” Liam asked, chuckling quietly as he watched a quite jubilant Niall. It was a change from Niall’s usual anxieties toward bath time, he seemed to fully trust the boys now.

Liam picked up a sticky, messy Niall who began whining and leaning down to his highchair again. Liam allowed him to and Niall grabbed his bottle. Louis watched rather amused as they walked to the bathroom, Niall tipping his head back as he drank as though that would make it come easier or quicker.

Liam held Niall while Louis filled the tub with water but a rather dismayed Niall soon found they had no bubbles to put in. A whiney Niall no longer wanted a bath with no bubbles. What is bath time without bubbles?!

“Here, we have toys,” Harry smiled, tipping a bag of bath toys into the water but Niall was ungrudging. Liam took off Niall’s bib and nappy. He attempted to set Niall in the water but Niall whined, clinging around Liam’s neck.

“Niall, stop messing,” Liam laughed. He held Niall just about the water and then gently shook Niall off him so he fell with a plop into the bathwater.

“Jesus, don’t hurt him,” Harry said, coming over and kneeling next to the bathtub. Liam just shrugged his shoulder but smile softly at how protective Harry was becoming over Niall. “Now, let's get you all clean,” Harry took a washcloth, dipping it into the water before he began rubbing it over Niall’s body. Niall breathed heavily, playing with one of the fish toys whilst Harry did this.

“How did he even get it in his hair,” Zayn chuckled, kneeling down next to Harry with some shampoo in hand. Niall just smiled up at Zayn, giggling quietly. Zayn washed Niall’s hair for him and as he did, Niall closed his eyes and was leaning against the side of the bath. He always loved getting his hair washed. When Zayn stopped, Niall glanced up at him immediately as though asking ‘why did you stop?’ He whined when Zayn wiped his hands, indicating to Niall he was done washing his hair.

“His face is so cute,” Harry cooed, watching Niall pout as he pushed a fish around the water. Niall produced a fart from between his legs which created bubbles in the water and had him erupted into giggles.

“When there are no bubbles he makes his own,” Zayn started to laugh when Niall farted again, watching the bubbles form between his legs. He looked in concentration for a minute, staring at Harry’s chest. A few seconds later he used the side of the bath to pull himself up on his knees and that’s when Zayn’s heart dropped. Residing at the bottom of the bath was a small brown lump and from Zayn’s angle, he could clearly see Niall on his knees adding to it.

“Harry, fuck look,” Zayn quickly pointed. Harry’s eyes widened and he immediately began to panic, not quite knowing how to address the situation.

“Liam!” Harry yelled. Liam appeared a few seconds later and looked as helpless as Harry.

“Oh God Niall, what have you done?” He asked Niall who just looked up at him innocently, sitting next to the little pile he had produced at the bottom of the tub. Yes, Niall had indeed taken a poop in the bath.

“Louis!” Liam yelled, his heart racing a little. Do they give out to Niall? How do they even get that out of the bath? These were some of the few questions running through Liam’s mind.

“Oh, is he done?” Louis asked, coming in with Niall’s duck towel. Louis started to laugh when he saw what he was met with. All the boys gave him a bewildered glance. “Guys, are you just gonna leave him in his poopy bath water?” Louis said between laughs. “Have you done a poop in the bath?” Louis asked, coming over to Niall. He picked him up, wrapping him in the towel, all the while Niall was giggling.

“How are you so calm?” Liam asked Louis who was laying Niall down on his changing mat.

“All babies poop in the bath at some stage,” he shrugged. “No biggie,” he said as he gently dried off Niall’s body. He lay, sucking on his fingers as he watched the boys worry about how they were going to clean this up. “When you gotta go, you gotta go,” he tickled Niall’s sides which had him squealing. He taped a nappy on a giggling Niall, picking him up and placing him on his hip.

Louis sat on the floor, Niall between his legs with some toys he showed little interest in. Instead of playing with them, Niall put one of the figures in his mouth, chewing and sucking on it. He seemed to find more amusement having the toys in his mouth or bashing them together rather than actually playing with them. To Louis, it seemed as though Niall had regressed to a younger age, although he was already semi-aware of this happening.

The boys came into the room some time later, beers in all their hands, giving Louis one too. Niall looked up from where he was chewing on another toy now, as though asking where his was. Louis moved and took a seat on the couch, settling down to watch the football with the boys. As soon as he did, Niall was crawling over between his legs again. He looked up at Louis with big eyes and whined, making grabby hands for the beer.

“Oi, you’re too little, you’re not having any beer. Harry will go get you some milk,” Louis bopped Niall on the nose. Niall only glared at Louis, folding his arms at him. He crawled over to Harry and Zayn, trying them for a sip of their beer but neither would give him any. His last resort; the pushover Liam. He used Liam’s legs and pulled himself to a stance so he was stood in front of Liam. He tried to reach for the bottle but Liam stopped him and Niall fell to his bottom with a thud. He immediately began to sob, not because he was hurt but because he wasn’t getting his own way.

“Oh, come on, I’ll get you some milk,” Liam cooed, picking a sobbing Niall up and bringing him to the kitchen. He one handedly prepared a bottle for Niall but Niall was not interested. He wanted what his daddies had, he didn’t want his silly bottle of milk. “Niall, please calm down,” Liam sighed, bouncing Niall gently on his hip. He handed Niall the bottle but Niall only flung it to the floor and continued to sob, making grabby hands for the beer again. “Fine, one sip but don’t tell papa or daddy is dead,” Liam gave in — as always — and held the neck of the bottle, pushing it to Niall’s mouth. Niall immediately calmed down and took quite a gulp. Although, he immediately grimaced when he did and let it all dribble out of his mouth again onto his shirt. His tastebuds had altered since regression and he no longer had the acquired taste for beer. As much as he wanted to be like his daddies, he was making grabby hands for his bottle of milk now. Frankly, it tasted much better to him.

Liam brought Niall back and handed him to Zayn who wanted to feed him. “Giving our baby beer,” Louis shook his head at Liam, a small smirk on his face.

“How do you know I gave him beer?” Liam cheeks reddened as Niall rested back against Zayn’s chest, Zayn holding the bottle of milk to Niall’s mouth for him. “I- I didn’t,” Liam stuttered.

“I’m psychic, I know everything,” Louis said. “You’ve been really bad Li, giving a baby beer,” he shook his head disdainfully.

“He’s not psychic, Niall has beer on his bib,” Harry pointed out and rolled his eyes at Louis.

“Well, I got him to stop crying. He tasted it and he hated it so tantrum over,” Liam shrugged as Niall watched him from the corner of his eyes while sucking on the bottle Zayn was holding for him.

“You always give in,” Louis chuckled, pulling Liam’s body to his. Liam rested his head on Louis’ chest, who placed a kiss on Liam’s forehead. “But I still love you,” he smiled, settling down to continue watching the game.

The boys all glanced to Niall when he started pointing at the telly and whining behind his bottle, causing milk to dribble down his chin. “What’s wrong?” Zayn asked, gently wiping his chin with his bib.

“Peppa!” Niall said when the nipple of the bottle was removed from his mouth. All four boys groaned in unison and frankly, it was a unanimous decision between in favour of not watching Peppa.

“Niall, no, we’re watching football, you can watch Peppa after,” Louis firmly told Niall who frankly, didn’t like hearing the word no. He started to cry, pointing at the telly as he did.

Zayn just ignored Niall’s cries and shoved the bottle back in his mouth. He cried for a few more minutes but when he realised none of the boys were not actually going to give in, he just continued to suckle on the teat of the bottle quietly.

When the boys team scored, they all cheered out loudly which made Niall jump and start to cry. He covered his ears, the yelling frightening him. “Lads, no more yelling,” Liam said, watching Niall’s contorted face as he cried. Zayn held him close to his chest until he calmed down and then put the bottle back in Niall’s mouth. Niall began gulping the milk down hungrily, drinking it a little too quickly. “Calm down, lad,” Zayn chuckled as he watched Niall who only tried to drink even faster. As he did this, his hands began undoing the tabs on his nappy, Liam swiftly redoing them again.

“Niall, leave your nappy on,” Liam hissed the fourth time Niall had undone the tabs. Before Niall could undo the tabs again, Zayn was moving him to a sitting position beginning to burp Niall. Niall stared at the wall, sucking on his fingers as Zayn tried to burp him but nothing was coming up, After five minutes of this Zayn was getting frustrated he couldn’t burp him and Niall was growing just as agitated in his arms.

“Here, let me,” Harry offered. He took a rather fidgety Niall from Zayn and began to attempt to burp him. Niall was growing more and more agitated with each passing minute, wriggling even more and whining. He was uncomfortable because he was feeling bloated, he was feeling ill too and he wanted to watch Peppa. “Liam, will you try?” Harry asked after another few minutes.

“I’m trying to watch the game,” he said, taking another gulp of his beer, not even looking at the two boys. To make matters worse for Niall, he started to wet his nappy then which only made him feel even more uncomfortable when it started growing cold between his legs. Consequently, he began to sob which made Liam’s head snap towards him. “Aww, baby, what’s wrong? Come to daddy,” he put down his beer and gently took Niall from Harry.

“He’s not burping,” Harry sighed. Liam stood up with Niall, placing him over his shoulder and beginning to attempt to burp Niall who was just crying in his arms. He walked over and back the room with Niall, his eyes glued to the telly the whole time as he tried to cook a burp up. The whole time, Niall was just sobbing loudly in his arms.

A defeated Liam took a seat on the couch again, sitting Niall up on his lap and continuing to rub his back. “That’s what happens when you gulp down your milk too quickly,” Zayn raised an eyebrow at Niall who’s eyes were watering, tears running down his cheeks. His legs dangled between Liam’s but he soon began kicking them against Liam’s when he grew even more agitated before. That was, when he tried to take off his nappy but Liam only scolded him and taped it again.

“Li, babe, let him take it off, he’s wet,” Louis said, watching Niall try to struggle in Liam’s arms. He was trying to get out of his grip but he just wasn’t strong enough and fell against his chest with a thud, followed by loud cries. Liam sighed but gently took off Niall’s nappy. He rolled it up and threw it on the floor and almost immediately Niall’s cries softened.

“Maybe he’ll be quiet now and we can actually watch this,” Harry sighed as he started to suck on his fingers. Harry was wrong though and Niall only stayed quiet for a few minutes before he started to cry again. He didn’t like this bloated feeling and didn’t understand why it wasn’t going away, usually his daddies always made him feel better right away.

“My turn,” Louis sighed. He took Niall and walked back and forth the room with him, bouncing him as he tried to burp him. Once again, he was unsuccessful as well. Niall was sweating profusely in Louis’ arms from the heat of the place they were in mixed with the stress of crying. To try cool him down, Louis stripped Niall of what clothing he had left on which only happened to be a shirt and a bib. He then lay Niall down on a blanket directly under the ceiling fan. He gave Niall a few toys to play with and hoped this would help calm him, for even five minutes of peace.

“Maybe you should have given him a whole beer, it might have done his tummy better,” Zayn joked as he watched Niall chew on a teething ring, finally calming down a little. It was only a few moments of bliss though and before long Niall was crying again. He’d actually dropped his teething ring which was why he was crying. He didn’t know where it’d gone even though it’d just fallen onto the blanket next to him.

“Here, shh,” Harry picked up different teething toy and handed it to Niall who was hushed immediately by this. A few minutes later, Niall vomited but because of his position on his back, he was unable to project the vomit out of his mouth and instead some gushed down his chin but the rest went back down his throat, causing him to start choking. He tried to sit up himself but he actually wasn’t strong enough to. The boys only turned their attention to him when he started coughing and spluttering loudly, frightening himself when he was struggling to breathe because of this.

“Fuck,” Liam quickly went and pulled Niall’s body to a sitting position. He hit Niall’s back a few times, quite hard but this helped Niall to get the rest up. “Aw Niall,” Liam scooped a traumatised Niall into his arms, holding him close to his chest as he started to wail. The incident had really frightened him and for the boys, showed how much care he really needed these days when he was so little. “You’re alright now, daddy’s got you,” Liam rubbed Niall’s back gently, rocking him gently in his arms.

Louis went, getting Niall’s pyjamas, a fresh nappy, his dummy and teddy. Before long, Niall was on the couch, snuggled between the four boys in his pyjamas. He was sucking on his dummy and rubbing his bear against his cheek, his eyes glued on the telly which was playing no other than Peppa Pig. Never in a million years did any of the four boys think they would voluntarily watch Peppa pig instead of the football but hey, Niall’s happiness was all that mattered to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there was no update last week! Longer one this week to make up for it! I've still been very ill (which I'm having tests done to see what's wrong). If I ever miss any weeks with no update, just know that's probably the reason and there will be an update the following week! I don't want to miss any more weeks though so fingers crossed!! 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for the support and please leave down below suggestions or anything you want to see happen! Btw, thinking of doing a sequel for this book, would you guys be into that? I love writing their story too much, don't want it to end haha! 
> 
> As always, I love you all so much and hope you have/had a wonderful day, lots of love, A Xx.


	21. Chapter 21

The boys stayed up late together, drinking beer and playing card games. They’d successfully gotten Niall to sleep quite early in his crib. He’d given up much less of a fight tonight and only cried for twenty minutes before he fell asleep.

The boys didn’t go to bed until after three and when they did, they were exhausted. Liam and Louis were only drifting off to sleep when Niall started to cry. They just assumed he had woken up and wanted out of his crib so they just cuddled closer to one another and tried to ignore his cries.

Twenty minutes later, Niall was still crying and a very agitated, lethargic Harry entered the room. “What’s wrong with him?” Harry asked, going over to the cot.

“He probably wants into our bed,” Louis grumbled as Niall made grabby hands for Harry. Harry lifted Niall from under the blankets and found he’d taken his pyjama bottoms and nappy off. Harry brought Niall to the living room where his changing supplies were and he got another nappy on Niall. While Harry did this, Niall had grabbed an empty bottle that was lying on the floor and was sucking on it.

“Are you thirsty, buddy?” Harry asked Niall who nodded his head frantically. with Niall on one hip, Harry one handedly prepared a bottle for Niall. He brought Niall back upstairs, tucking him back into his cot with his bottle.

“Harry,” Louis groaned. “You can’t just give him milk and leave him there, what if he chokes again?” Louis sighed, sitting up and looking inside the cot where Niall was sucking contently on his bottle.

“Sorry, I’ll take him to mine and Zayn’s room if you want,” he offered.

“No, just leave him,” Louis sighed. He leaned over the side of Niall’s travel cot from his bed, keeping a tired eye on Niall as he drunk. Niall started whining when he couldn’t suck any milk out because he wasn’t holding his bottle up high enough. Louis opened his eyes and sighed before he stretched out an arm and held Niall’s bottle for him. When he finished it, he was almost asleep but Louis had to disrupt this. He stood up with Niall over his shoulder, beginning to burp him. Niall gave a small burp a few minutes later.

“Oh, is that all you have for me?” Louis asked, looking down at Niall who was putting his fingers in his mouth. He smiled sleepily behind his fingers at Louis who was tucking him into his cot again.

A while later, Niall was still awake, chewing on his fingers as he stared at the ceiling. He wasn’t feeling too good but didn’t want to wake his daddies. They were fast asleep when Niall started getting sick again, a repetition of earlier on as Niall started choking on it. Much to Niall’s relief, the coughing woke Louis up who immediately went and pulled Niall to a sitting position. He then took Niall into bed with them, too scared in case he got sick again.

“Louis, he’s not allowed in the bed,” Liam sighed.

“Liam, he’s just been sick, what if he gets sick again and neither of us wake up?” Louis asked. He was just exhausted and this was the easy way out.

“Well, he could be sick in the bed and neither of us will wake up, put him back,” Liam snapped, actually being dominant for once. When Louis didn’t move him back liam groaned and moved him back himself, tucking Niall back in after removing the soiled blanket and replacing it with one that wasn’t covered in spit-up. “I didn’t spend those nap times and night listening to him cry to have you ruin it all again,” Liam said in an assertive tone which had Louis rather taken aback.

“If he chokes to death I’m blaming you,” Louis grumbled before rolling over and burying his face in Liam’s chest. Liam just rolled his eyes fondly before wrapping his arms around Louis.

The following day, the boys were all out by the pool but Niall was being more than fussy. He cried anytime he wasn’t in somebody arms and even in their arms, was whimpering and whining every few minutes. He wasn’t his usual giggly self and was just plain grumpy.

He didn’t seem to want to engage in play in the water and the only thing he did in the pool was naughty. He decided grabbing the hat off the lady near them was a wonderful idea. He snatched it off her head which had her turning around to see who had taken it. “Niall!” Zayn exclaimed, trying to take the hat from Niall’s grasp but Niall was clutching it rather tightly. “Niall, we do not take other people’s things,” Zayn exclaimed, a blush rising up his cheeks. “I am so sorry,” he said to the lady.

“It’s okay,” she chuckled as Zayn harshly pulled the hat from his grasp and gave it back to the lady. Immediately Niall started to cry loudly, kicking his legs in the water and starting to have a complete and total meltdown.

“Niall, stop it,” Zayn sighed, trying to stop Niall from kicking him. Before Zayn could utter another word, Niall was hitting his chest repeatedly and quite hard at that, too. He might not have been able to sit himself up the night prior but those little arms still had strength. “Niall, stop it,” Zayn said more firmly but Niall was only hitting harder. Niall then swung a little too high and hit Zayn right in the nose, ending in a lot of pain and blood.

“Don’t let him get away with that,” Louis said when he saw the blood coming from Zayn’s nose. Liam and Harry were just watching in shock because none of this was Niall’s usual behaviour. Niall was not an aggressive person so they were rather taken aback by his outburst.

Liam then grabbed Niall from the water and stormed up to their apartment with him. Once in the apartment, Liam placed Niall in the corner without saying a word to him. By the look on Niall’s face and the cries coming from his mouth, he knew he was in trouble. Big trouble. Especially when daddy was mad, Daddy never got mad.

“Papa,” he cried when he saw Louis coming into the apartment, holding his hands out to him. Louis just ignored him, however hard it was for him but he couldn’t give him cuddles for hurting Zayn for no reason really.

As soon as Liam left — a wet— Niall in the corner, Niall was crawling out of it and following him. Liam brought him back each and every time he came out, his cries only seeming to grow louder and more agitated each time. He tried all three of the other boys, trying to get them to lift him but each time Liam just carried screaming Niall back to the corner.

Niall eventually gave in and just sat crying for the next five minutes. He then started to feel unwell, his tummy feeling a little weird so he started to cry for his daddies again. He crawled out one more time, trying to tell the boys he didn’t feel good but all that came out of his mouth were incoherent babbles. Liam brought Niall back once more but this time he stayed.

Ten minutes later, Liam came to fetch Niall who immediately was trying to hug him. “You need to say sorry to Zayn, not me. You gave Zayn owies Ni,” Liam told Niall. Niall nodded, sniffling quietly and rubbing his sore eyes. Liam carried Niall to where Zayn was in the living room — no damage done, thankfully — and he set Niall down next to Zayn.

“Sowry,” Niall shyly said to Zayn, his eyes watering over.

“It’s okay Ni,” Zayn smiled. He knew there was something wrong with Niall for him to act like that, he just wished he knew what it was. Something was upsetting Niall to make him like that and he knew it wasn’t the fact he made Niall give the hat back.

“How about we have something to eat,” Louis said, coming in with a bottle for Niall. Zayn took it and tried to feed Niall who only wriggled and whined behind the bottle, not wanting any. Zayn held him in place with the bottle in his mouth but any milk that dribbled out of the nipple onto Niall’s tongue, he allowed to dribble out of his mouth.

“What’s wrong with you, baby,” Liam cooed, taking Niall from Zayn’s arms and trying to feed him again. Niall was not cooperating and was attempting to push the bottle away from his mouth. He moved his head in the opposite direction the bottle was in an attempt to avoid it.

“He doesn’t want it, don’t force him,” Louis shrugged. He popped a dummy in Niall’s mouth then and placed a gentle kiss to the top of his head. Liam lay Niall down on a blanket on the floor and Niall immediately started to cry. He held his arms out to be picked up again, being extremely clingy today. When nobody picked him up he started to cry harder and louder with each passing minute.

“Niall, calm down, you’re not being murdered,” Louis rolled his eyes as he listened to Niall’s over-exaggerated screams. He was being a little drama queen.

“He just wants cuddles, don’t you,” Harry cooed, leaning down and bringing Niall up into his arms. Niall’s cries immediately softened and he buried his face in Harry’s neck. For the next half an hour, Niall was rocked gently in Harry’s arms who walked over and back the apartment with Niall. He was hoping Niall would fall asleep but availed of no such thing.

Niall whined behind his dummy, mumbling something incoherently to Harry. “What was that?” Harry asked. He took the dummy from Niall’s mouth and Niall repeated what he said but to Harry it was just a jumble of babbles which made no sense. Niall began to grow frustrated at the fact that nobody knew what he was trying to tell the boys.

Louis came over, asking Niall things such as was he hungry or needed a change but Niall just cried quietly in Harry’s arms. Niall wriggled uncomfortably, producing a loud wet fart a few seconds later which made all the boys cackle. He didn’t giggle, he just buried his face in Harry’s neck again. Some moments later he wriggled to be put down. On his bum, Niall realised he hadn’t only farted and whined, feeling uncomfortable.

“Oh, what’s wrong?” Louis asked, sitting on the couch above him. He gently pulled Niall to his feet so Niall was stood between his legs. As soon as he was on his feet Niall felt it all gushing out of him like water into his nappy. He only stood paralysed, holding Louis’ hands tight in his as he started to feel a bit of relief in his tummy, filling the back of his nappy quite a bit.

“What’s he doing?” Liam started laughing at the expressions Niall was making, which were no less than amusing.

“I don’t know,” Louis laughed as well at Niall’s face. “Come here,” he lifted Niall onto his lap and as soon as Niall was sat on his bum again, he felt the wet liquid he had just produced squish all around his bum, even behind his balls which didn’t feel very good.

“I think he needs a nappy change,” Liam scrunched his face from next to Louis, the smell hitting him first.

“Oh no, did you do a poo?” Louis asked Niall who just lay limply in his arms. His tummy may have felt better but he didn’t. He was tired, dehydrated and just didn’t feel himself.

“I’ll change him,” Harry offered, holding his arms out for Niall.

“I wanna change him,” Zayn added in. Louis and Liam looked at the two incredulously. Why would they actually want to change a dirty nappy?

“I’m not going to stop either of you,” Louis chuckled. Harry took Niall from Louis who just whined and lay limply against Harry’s chest. Harry took Niall to the bathroom and lay him down on his mat. As soon as he opened Niall’s nappy his eyes widened when he saw Niall had the runs. He tried not to gag and instead held his breath as he began to clean Niall.

He lifted Niall’s legs up and pulled the nappy from under his bum. Holding Niall’s ankles in one hand and a handful of wipes in the other, Harry began cleaning Niall. Niall’s body jolted at the cold feeling of the wipes. When he wiped around Niall’s hole he began whimpering because it was stinging.

“I’m sorry, I’ll be quick, I promise,” Harry cooed as he quickly grabbed a clean nappy. He slipped it under Niall and then gently let Niall’s legs down. He pulled the nappy up tight against Niall’s crotch before taping it shut.

He proudly picked up Niall and brought him back to the living room, feeling quite proud that Niall let him change him and he had successfully done it (without puking). He had to admit, it wasn’t as bad as he had anticipated.

“He has the runs,” Harry told the boys as he entered the room again. “Like real bad,”

“Aww, is that what was making you grumpy,” Liam cooed, bringing Niall into his arms. He just fell against Liam’s chest, his eyes drooping closed. “Aw, is my little baby tired?” Liam wrapped his arms around Niall and held him against his chest.

“Get some water into him then,” Louis said, coming in with a bottle of water for Niall to drink. Niall latched onto the nipple of the bottle as soon as it was held out to him and he was sucking as quickly as the nipple would allow him to.

Before Niall had finished his bottle, he had filled his nappy again. Zayn took it upon himself this time to clean Niall up and he basically only had the new nappy taped on him when poor Niall was crying out because he was going uncontrollably again.

In the next hour, Niall had filled another five nappies for the boys and they were quickly actually running out of clean nappies. They were due to fly home tomorrow night so they only had a few nappies left.

“What are we going to do? Where are we going to find nappies for him out here?” Liam asked, seemingly worried. Louis looked up from where he was cuddling Niall, trying to get him to drink some sports drink to get more sugar into him.

“I don’t know, but we’re going to have to try because we only have like three left,” Louis said before Niall got sick behind the bottle Louis was holding, sick getting all over Louis’ hands.

Liam took Niall, holding him close to him as Louis went to go wash up. Zayn and Harry agreed they’d go on the search for nappies while the other boys stayed home with Niall.

Niall was soon needing another change and this time when Liam tried to wipe his bum Niall started screaming and crying. His bottom was red raw from all the messy nappies and all the wiping. His sensitive skin was bleeding in places, all chaffed and sore. Liam felt pretty guilty as he had to continue wiping Niall, despite his pleas for Liam to stop.

“I’m sorry baby,” Liam cooed, holding a sobbing Niall to his chest. He brought Niall to their bedroom and lay on the bed with him, trying to distract him with some toys. Liam started getting Niall’s Peppa Pig teddy to give him kisses. At first, Niall continued to cry but Liam had the toy ‘kissing’ all over Niall’s tear stained face and before long there were giggles erupting from Niall.

Liam then placed Peppa to the side and started kissing all over Niall’s face himself. Niall squealed and from where he was lying tried to kiss all over Liam’s face as well. Liam leaned down and blew raspberries on Niall’s tummy, making him squeal out excitedly. He tangled his hands in Liam’s hair and just giggled loudly, forgetting about how ill he felt now because he was enjoying this attention so much.

“Papa’s here, doesn’t he get kisses?” Louis asked. He went over to Niall who then began sloppily placing kisses all over Louis’ face. Niall just appeared euphoric as he lay with the two boys smothering him in attention. “Have some juice,” Louis said, giving Niall a bottle filled with a sports drink to get his sugar levels back up.

“Good boy,” Liam smiled, playing with Niall’s hair as he began to drink the juice. Niall looked up at him through his eyelashes as he sucked on the bottle, smiling behind it. Niall pulled the bottle from his mouth then with a pop and held it out to Liam. Liam took it as some juice dribbled down Niall’s chin. “What? Are you done?” Liam asked, checking how many ounces Niall had drunk. When Niall opened his mouth again Liam soon realised he wanted to be fed by him. Liam chuckled quietly pushed the bottle into his mouth which Niall began drinking again.

When Niall was finished his bottle, Liam asked him if he needed another change. Niall immediately shook his head. Liam raised an eyebrow at Niall, not trusting him. Niall glanced up at him through his eyelashes, innocently sucking on his fingers. No believing Niall, he lifted him up and pulled back his pyjama pants and nappy and surely enough, the back of it was full. He wasn’t sure if Niall didn’t want to be changed or just didn’t know he had gone. “Come on stinky bum,” Liam picked Niall up. Niall began whining and shook his head. He didn’t want to be changed again because his bum was hurting a lot and he was enjoying cuddles with his daddy.

As soon as they got to the bathroom Niall was kicking his legs and crying, thrashing about in Liam’s arms. Liam set Niall down on his changing mat and as soon as he did, Niall was trying to sit up. He felt a little bad for him when he watched him struggling to try sit up. He would get his head and shoulders off the mat but wasn’t strong enough to actually pull his whole body up. It made Liam realise how vulnerable Niall really is right now and only made him want to protect him even more.

Niall fell back down onto the mat, crying loudly, feeling overwhelmed by the fact he wasn’t able to get up. Liam held out his two hands to Niall, who took them in his own and used Liam’s hands to pull himself up. He continued to hold Liam’s hands tightly as he calmed down, blue watery eyes drooping in his head as he was evidently exhausted.

“We’re back!” Harry called, coming in followed by Zayn, both bags in hand. Niall squealed excitedly when he saw the boys, holding his hands out to them as he squealed something incoherently as though trying to say something.

“Oh my God, what did you guys buy?” Liam asked as Zayn placed down his bags and picked up Niall. Niall wrapped his arms around him, resting his head on his shoulder. He smirked into Zayn’s shoulder, knowing he’d successfully gotten out of his nappy change.

“We found a shop that sold loads of stuff for adult babies so we ended up getting him loads of clothes because, look,” Harry excited exclaimed as he started taking out what looked like baby clothes but Niall sized. He had gotten Niall baby vests; striped ones, spotty ones blue ones and even a pink one which Liam didn’t think Niall would like. Although, he liked the idea of these vests because as they were buttoned around Niall’s nappy, it would make it harder for Niall to take his nappy off.

He’d also gotten Niall button up onesies in all colours as well as those onesie’s with no feet, in all colours and sizes; long-sleeved, short-sleeved, long-leg, short-leg. “He hates jeans so these will be more comfortable,” Harry said, holding up some outfits which different coloured loose leggings with appropriate matching tops. Liam cooed when he saw a pair of leggings with bears all over them, he knew Niall would look so cute in all this. Not only would Niall more than likely be more comfortable int these but he would look so much younger and so much cuter. “This is my favourite,” Harry said, holding up a t-shirt that said ‘I love my daddies’. Liam had to admit, that one was his favourite.

“How will we get all this home?” Liam chuckled, looking through all the different patterns and designs of clothes they’d gotten him.

“We’ll manage,” Harry smiled, looking over at Niall who was looking at all the clothes with curious eyes. “Do you like them?” Harry asked, coming over to Niall and ruffling his hair.

“He needs a change,” Zayn said, placing Niall down on the mat. Niall immediately began to cry, holding his hands out to the boys to be picked up. As soon as Zayn began pulling down Niall’s pyjama pants he was screaming loudly and kicking his legs.

“Calm down,” Harry knelt down next to Niall. He gently nudged a dummy between Niall’s lips which Niall immediately spat out and then continued to scream. He made the nappy change for Zayn quite a strenuous task with his constant wriggling and kicking. As soon as the wipes touched Niall’s sore bum, this is when his tantrum climaxed. He kicked poor Zayn so hard in the chest, Zayn fell backward.

“Oh my God, are you okay?” Harry quickly helped Zayn back up. Zayn nodded, watching Niall who was crying as he tried to sit up.

“Jesus, Niall just gives you all the abuse,” Louis said as he knelt down to finish the job Zayn had started. Louis kept a tight grip on Niall’s ankles and easily held them so he couldn’t kick. Niall was nowhere near strong enough to beat Louis. Instead, he just resorted to sobbing, even crying the whole time Louis dressed him in his new clothes. He put a striped vest on Niall, a pair of striped leggings and a blue top with cars on it. Everyone was cooing at how small and innocent he looked in his baby clothes.

“Come on grumpy bum,” Liam chuckled as he picked up Niall. Niall was looking down at his top curiously then, fingering the cars which were embroidered onto the t-shirt. He poked one of the cars, saying something incoherently before looking up at Liam with a smile. “What’s that?” Liam chuckled, adjusting Niall on his hip. Niall repeated what he had said but it wasn’t English anyway, to him, it just sounded like baby talk. “You’re so cute,” Liam smiled down at Niall who had his fingers in his mouth, drooling around them as he smiled.

“Seeing as he’s feeling a little better maybe you two should go out, we’ll take care of him,” Harry suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” Liam smiled down at Niall who as gurgling happily in his arms. He gently moved Niall and lay him on the bed as he went to go get changed. Cries were soon coming from Niall, Harry hushed him, placing a dummy in his mouth but Niall’s cries only grew louder and he began to kick his legs. Zayn then brought Niall onto his lap, ready to check his nappy or get him a bottle but as soon as he was in Zayn’s arms, his cries subdued.

“You’re a little monkey, aren’t you?” Zayn chuckled when he realised there was indeed nothing wrong with Niall and he only wanted to be held. Niall giggled, smiling up at Zayn behind his dummy, a string of spit dribbling down onto his new shirt. The light blue neck of the shirt was already tainted a darker blue due to Niall’s constant drooling.

A while later, Niall was lying on the couch between Harry and Zayn, Harry holding a bottle of milk Niall was drinking. Louis and Liam were getting ready to go out for dinner and some drinks together, although they were apprehensive in regards to leaving Niall with the boys.

“Ni, we’re gonna go now, we’ll be back later but you better be sleeping,” Liam hesitantly told Niall before leaning down to kiss him. “You’re staying with Harry and Zayn, is that okay?”

“Bye daddy!” he said as Harry pulled the bottle from his mouth. Along with his words came the mouthful of milk he hadn’t swallowed. Liam was a little taken aback that Niall didn’t cry. He smiled softly to himself at the fact Niall seemed comfortable enough with the two boys it didn’t both him his daddies were leaving.

“Bye Niall,” Louis came in to give Niall a kiss before he left. Niall just smiled and waved at Louis before snuggling back into Zayn’s side, holding his mouth open for his bottle Harry had. For once, the two boys were leaving and didn’t feel guilty about leaving him.

The boys lay with Niall for a while as he finishes his bottle and then he gets a little fussy. Harry brought Niall onto his lap and held him to his chest. Niall’s head dropped to his shoulder and he just pouted. “Do you want to go to bed?” Harry asked, gently pinching Niall’s cheek. He shook his head, burying his face into Harry’s chest. As soon as Zayn stood up, Niall’s head lifted and he glanced up at him with bright eyes.

“Baba,” he whined, holding his hands out to Zayn. Zayn’s eyes widened when he realised Niall called him this but his expression soon erupted into a smile. He picked Niall up and placed him on his hip with a wide smile.

“Aw I love you so much,” he kissed Niall’s cheek.

“Hey, why don’t I get a parent name,” Harry looked rather offended, folding his arms and pouted at Niall. He then began to fake cry which had Niall looking rather worried.

“Pops,” he smiled at Harry who’s expression was soon mirroring Zayn’s euphoric one.

“Oh my God, I love you too,” Harry came over and pinched Niall’s cheeks before kissing his forehead. “Zayn I’m his pops,” Harry’s eyes looked slightly watery. Zayn just nodded with a small chuckle. He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to Harry’s which had Niall squealing between them.

“Be quiet you,” Zayn said to Niall as he pulled back. Niall just giggled loudly behind his dummy. “Right, let’s get you ready for bed,” Zayn said, carrying Niall to the bedroom to get him changed and in a onesie. He set Niall down on the floor and picked out a onesie. He chose a light material one that buttoned up and had little bears all over it. It looked rather adorable. As soon as he turned around to put the onesie on Niall, Niall was no longer present in the room.

Panicking, he ran out to the hall where he saw Niall’s striped leggings crawling to the door. “Oi, where do you think you’re going?” Zayn soon caught up with Niall. He stood behind Niall, letting him try do whatever he was planning to. Niall crawled to the door and used the handle to pull himself up — thankfully the door was locked so he couldn’t open it. He was only on his feet for a mere few seconds before he fell to the carpeted floor beneath him with a thud.

“Daddy,” he mumbled very quietly, staring solemnly at the floor between his legs. “Papa,” he whimpered, trying to pull himself to his feet again but he physically couldn’t.

“Aww, they’ll be home soon, bud,” Zayn placed his hands under Niall’s arms, hoisting him up to his feet. Niall wobbled significantly so Zayn quickly grabbed Niall’s upper arms to hold him steady. “Walk with me,” Zayn urged Niall to take a step but the boy wouldn’t. He stood, his legs wobbling every few seconds ready to go from under him and only for Zayn holding him up he would have been on the floor quite a while ago.

When Niall started to cry, Zayn picked him up and carried him to the bedroom. He lay Niall on the bed and took off his clothes. He used Niall’s shirt to wipe below Niall’s neck which was damp due to him the drool seeping through his top. Zayn popped Niall dummy back in his mouth before quickly getting him out of his wet nappy and into his onesie. Niall was still crying quietly but Zayn knew it was just out of sheer exhaustion. He could see the bags under Niall’s red eyes. Being sick today was bound to take a lot out of the poor little guy.

The boys didn’t put Niall in his crib and instead got into bed with him in between them, — which Liam would not be too happy about — cuddling them. Niall attempted to stay awake, though, he wanted to see his daddies before he went to sleep. He didn’t mind being with Zayn and Harry but he just wanted to be sure they were coming back.

Niall fidgeted between the boys for the next hour, anxiously chewing on his dummy. The little lad was forcing himself to stay awake but was quickly failing. His eyes were drooping closed and every few minutes his body would jump and he’d force himself awake. Just after half ten — which was way past Niall’s bedtime — the two boys arrived home. Niall tried to sit up in the bed but he couldn’t.

“Daddy, papa,” he whimpered, holding his hands out as though they were there. When Harry saw this, he sat up, rubbing his eyes. He was about to get up and take Niall to the boys when he began to hear things little eyes should not see. Harry looked down at Niall and to the door, not really knowing what to do. Niall started to cry, getting a little frustrated he couldn’t get up himself.

“One minute Niall, I’ll go get your daddies,” Harry said, getting out of bed. He barged into their room, just glad they weren’t — fully — naked yet. “Niall wants to see you before he went to sleep,” Harry said, rubbing his eyes. “He’s stayed awake.”

The boys nodded, Liam, pulling Louis’ trousers back up.

“Daddies here, we’re home,” Liam said as he came in, feeling guilty when he heard Niall’s quiet cries from next to Zayn. He immediately started to gurgle happily and able incoherently to the boys as though trying to tell them what he did while they were gone. “Oh wow, you had a busy time, didn’t you?” Liam smiled at Niall who giggled. They expected Niall to return back to their room with them but as soon as Niall saw them and got a goodnight kiss from both of them, he was snuggling back down between Zayn and Harry.

“Don’t you wanna come back to your cot?” Louis asked, raising an eyebrow. Stupid question. Of course Niall didn’t want to go back to his cot when he was in bed with the two boys. Louis and Liam just returned to their room alone without Niall which felt a little weird but they were quite happy that they would actually have some alone time to do things they don’t actually ever get much of a chance to do.

“Have fun guys,” Harry winked as he got back into bed next to Niall. A blush just rose on Liam’s cheek as Louis dragged him out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, ahh I just love writing about really little Niall!! I really hope you enjoyed this update! Let me know if you did and please leave down below what you want to read next! I always try get in all your requests, don't be shy btw, pretty open so I'm willing to write whatever you guys wanna read! 
> 
> Love you all so much and I hope you are having/had a wonderful day! Lots of love, A Xx


	22. Chapter 22

Home from their holidays the boys found they were missing one another. Louis and Liam were missing the help, Niall was missing the attention and fun and Zayn and Harry were missing Niall.

“Niall, what do you want to wear?” Liam asked, taking some of Niall’s new clothes out of his drawer, placing a few options in front of him. Niall put his finger in his mouth as he looked at the clothes. He then pointed to a pair of cotton white leggings with black owls printed all over them. To match, there was a black shirt which had a white owl on it. Liam picked out a pair of Niall’s white adidas alongside a little red raincoat which looked adorable on him.

When he turned around to get Niall dressed, Niall’s naked little bum was crawling out of the room. “Where do you think you’re going?” Louis caught Niall in the hallway. He sat on his bum and looked up at Louis, starting to giggle. “Excuse me, mister, what do you think you’re doing?” Louis placed a hand on his hip when Niall was bum shuffling to the staircase. The baby gate at the top oft the stairs stopping him from going any further. “Come on, you little money,” Louis scooped Niall up. He squealed loudly and giggled the whole way back to the bedroom. “Look who I found,” Louis chuckled, holding Niall up as entered the room.

“Our little monkey,” Liam chuckled, taking Niall from Louis. He set Niall on the bed, where a nappy was unfolded and ready for Niall to be strapped into. Niall slid off the bed immediately and sat on the carpet, smiling up at the boys behind his fingers.

“He’s definitely going to pee,” Louis looked down at Niall.

“How do you know,” Liam rolled his eyes at Louis. “Right, come on, let’s get you change-“ Liam ended his sentence with a scream. He jumped back and looked over at Louis who started laughing at Liam’s reaction. Liam looked back down at Niall, whose eyes were squinted as he giggled, a small puddle forming between his legs. Much to Liam’s relief, instead of peeing big amounts a few times a day, Niall was now only peeing very small amounts quite frequently so the puddle was a small one. It still had Liam panicking though, he didn’t know what to do. “Oh God save us, what do I do?” Liam looked to Louis for guidance.

“You just dress him and I’ll clean this,” Louis chuckled, his demeanour still calm as he was quite used to this sort of predicament and knew what to do. Liam picked up a wriggling Niall and got him dressed while Louis cleaned the carpet, Niall giggling the whole time.

“Oh, what’s going on in here?” Harry asked as he came in with Zayn.

“Baba!” Niall yelled. “Pop!” He yelled just as loudly. A squealing Niall kicked his legs and held his arms out to the boys.

“His outfit is adorable,” Zayn cooed as he went over and picked up Niall. Niall wrapped his arms around Zayn’s’ neck He smiled up at Niall and then leaned forward, giving him a quick kiss before burying his face in Zayn’s shoulder and giggling. He set Niall down on the bed so Liam could put his shoes on him and then his little red raincoat. A red dummy was then popped in his mouth which had all the boys cooing. His whole outfit just made him look so much younger. All the attention had Niall bouncing excitedly on his bum.

Harry pulled Niall to his feet and tried to help him walk but Niall just couldn’t — or wouldn’t. He whined until Harry placed him on his hip and then he sat contently. The boys had planned to bring Niall to the zoo nearby and then maybe bring him out for ice-cream afterward if he wasn’t too tired.

Once at the zoo, they boys got Niall’s pushchair out. Liam was hesitant but Louis wasn’t and got Niall strapped in. He draped a blanket over Niall’s legs and hung his nappy bag on the handles. Much to Liam’s surprise, they didn’t receive too many strange looks and the zoo wasn’t very busy either which made Liam calm down.

“Which animal do you wanna see first?” Harry knelt down next to Niall who was looking around with curious eyes. Niall mumbled something behind his dummy so Harry gently pulled it from his mouth, asking Niall to repeat what he said. He said something that didn’t sound like English and Harry couldn’t make out what it was Niall was attempting to say.

“Bud, what is it?” Louis asked. Niall said something else again and pointed in front of him but nobody knew what he was trying to say. Niall smiled at Louis when he finished babbling and giggled. “Oh really?” Louis asked, pretending as though he knew what Niall said. Niall nodded, pulling his dummy from his mouth. He sat forward in his pushchair but the straps stopped him from going too far and then he started to babble again. Louis just smiled fondly at Niall who was babbling quite loudly, looking quite happy.

Zayn pushed Niall around the zoo. They first went to see the underwater animals which Niall showed very little interest in them. Instead he pulled his adidas runner off and started chewing on that. “Niall, stop that,” Louis snatched the shoe out of his hand. He tied the shoe back on Niall’s foot before giving him a teething ring to chew on instead.

They then proceeded outside and the first animals they went to see were the monkeys. Niall whined to get out, holding his hands out to any of the boys who were looking at him. Liam, the softie, was the one who caved and picked Niall up. He held him so he could look inside the enclosure.

“Mom-ge,” Niall pointed inside. Liam nodded, smiling at his pronunciation. A monkey came over and hung from the branch which was close to where the boys were standing. Niall watched curiously before a monkey came up behind the other one and started attacking it. They ended up in a very loud brawl then which had Niall terrified. He started to sob loudly which got a few looks from people around them but Liam didn’t care, he was too busy trying to comfort Niall and tell him everything was okay.

“Okay, let's move on,” Louis chuckled, taking a sobbing Niall from Liam. Louis popped Niall’s dummy in his mouth and bounced him gently in his arms as they made their way to the next enclosure. The next one was elephants and Niall watched them intently, looking quite excited in Louis’ arms as he watched them. When the elephant roared, Niall again got frightened and started crying in Louis’ arms.

“You’re so silly,” Louis rolled his eyes as he put tried to strap Niall back into his pushchair. Niall immediately started to wriggle so Louis couldn’t tie him in. He cried loudly and held out his arms to Louis. Niall much preferred being held rather than in his pushchair which was evident for the next ten minutes when he continued to cry. He cried until one of the boys finally gave in and picked him up, taking turns carrying him around.

They took Niall to the lions and he was extremely intrigued by them. He held onto the fence, looking over curiously from Harry’s arms. When one roared quite loudly, the boys were anticipating Niall to begin sobbing out of fear but instead he clapped his hands excitedly and squealed. Niall attempted to imitate the roar then which was the most adorable things the boys had ever heard. His little timid “grr” made them all coo and laugh.

For the rest of the time they were in the zoo, Niall was doing his little ‘grr’ at anyone who passed by. It appeared to be his new favourite thing to say and by the time they were done in the zoo, they were already sick of Niall saying it over and over again.

“What animal are you Niall?” Harry asked as he carried Niall to the bathroom to change him.

“Line!” He excitedly squealed and clapped his hands before roaring again. Harry just smiled fondly as he set Niall down on his feet. He wobbled slightly but caught hold of Harry to steady himself.

“You need a change?” He asked as he set down Niall’s changing mat. Niall shook his head and let go of Harry, he went to walk to the door but stumbled and fell backwards onto his padded bum. “Get off that dirty floor,” Harry picked Niall up when he started crawling. “You can’t get your nice new clothes dirty,” he said as he lay Niall down on the changing mat.

“Grrr!” Niall giggled at Harry. He scrunched his face up when he said it but then erupted into giggles. Harry just rolled his eyes fondly as he pulled down Niall’s leggings. Niall kicked his legs while he done this so Harry had to quickly grab Niall’s ankles. As Niall’s ankles were so skinny and Harry’s hands so large, he could hold both Niall’s ankles in one hand which was handy. He pulled Niall’s nappy from under his bum, noticing Niall had a small bit of poop in the back of the nappy. He wasn’t surprised with this finding as Niall seemed to be pooping a lot more frequently these days, much like his peeing although his poop didn’t necessarily always come in smaller amounts. He just pooped. Quite a lot.

He grabbed some wipes and raised Niall’s legs higher to gain better access to the bottom in question. He scrunched his nose as he wiped Niall’s bum, soon finding a lot of poop still squished between his bum cheeks. He used quite a few wipes on Niall who just sat chewing on his fingers while staring at the ceiling. Once clean, he threw the wipes on top of the nappy and then slid a nappy under Niall’s bum. He grabbed another wiped and wiped he residue of urine off Niall’s groin. Niall wriggled when the cold wipes hit his willy and he immediately grabbed it with a giggle.

“Oi, hands off,” Harry pushed Niall’s hands away before quickly taping his nappy. Harry then lifted Niall to his feet, pulling his leggings up. He left Niall standing as he then packed everything up. Niall tried to run to the door but instead, robbed and topped over, falling straight onto his front. He failed to put his hands out in front of which ended on Niall literally falling flat on his face. Harry gasped and quickly moved to pick Niall up. He expected Niall to be sobbing when he picked him up but he wasn’t. His eyes were full of tears but none were falling down his cheeks.

“Niall, are you- Oh God,” Harry began panicking when he noticed Niall’s nose bleeding.

“Owie,” Niall whimpered quietly. He touched under his nose and got blood on his fingers.

“Oh God,” Harry quickly grabbed tissue. He wiped off Niall’s fingers so Niall wouldn’t get it on his clothes. He then pinched Niall’s nose shut which made Niall flinch and screw his eyes shut. He still wasn’t crying which baffled Harry as his poor little nose got quite the bang.

When his nose stopped bleeding, a rather dazed Harry carried Niall out to where the boys were waiting for them. “What took you so long?” Louis asked, taking Niall ready to strap him into his stroller. Niall was not long protesting against this and eventually won Zayn’s support who then carried him to the car. As they walked to the car, Harry told Louis sheepishly what happened. He felt bad Niall got hurt in his care but Louis was quick to rid him of his guilt, telling him these things happen.

“Wanna go for ice-cream?” Zayn asks Niall as he straps him into the car. Niall nods, even though he looks exhausted. It wartime for a nap for him but he was determined to get ice-cream first.

When they arrived, Harry and Zayn sat with Niall while the other two boys got their ice-creams. Niall was whiney and wanted to be held. “Baba,” he held his arms out to Zayn, wanting to be cuddled by him. Once on his lap, he snuggled into Zayn’s chest, struggling to keep his eyes open.

Soon, a kids ice-cream sundae sat before him and his eyes were suddenly huge again. He took the spoon, determined to feed himself. Zayn turned him on his lap and moved Niall forward so he was closer to the table. He still failed to successfully feed himself and the tired little lad had his new clothes all covered in ice-cream before long.

With each spoonful into his mouth, three-quarters of it was spilling down his front or going on his face. Before the boys even realised it, he was grabbed handfuls of ice-cream and shovelling them into his mouth. He’d get a small amount into his mouth from the palm of his hand, then look down at what was left and mush it between his fingers before letting it all drip onto his lap. This method of feeding himself proved to be one of the most messy Niall had ever used.

“You should probably stop him,” Liam said hesitantly to Zayn, more worried about what people around him thought rather than the actual mess Niall was creating everywhere.

“Let it happen, all little boys do it,” Louis shrugged his shoulders as he watched Niall shovel more to his mouth, getting more on his nose than in his mouth. “You’re having fun, aren’t you Niall?” Louis smiled at Niall who soon returned a giggly one. He kicked his feet, kicking poor Zayn’s shins with his adidas runners, which hurt quite a bit. Once again, Zayn getting the abuse from Niall.

When Niall finished, he lay tiredly against Zayn’s chest, quite exhausted because it was a big day for little Niall. Not only was he at the zoo but he fed himself, that was a hard day for him!

He fell asleep on the way home in the car, breathing loudly with his cheek against his shoulder. Liam carried Niall inside and tucked him into his crib after taking off his filthy clothes. He placed Niall in a new vest and once buttoned, tucked his little sleeping beauty into his crib for a nap. As Liam looked down upon him, watching Niall, he appeared so innocent; lying in the crib with a little white vest on, a dummy bobbing in his mouth and a teddy clutched to his chest. Liam draped one of his fluffy blue blankets over him before leaving the room, being sure the baby monitor they had gotten was turned on before he did.

Downstairs. he took a seat next to Louis on the couch. Louis smiled down at him and pulled Liam’s ungrudging body to his. He rested his chin atop Liam’s head as he wrapped his arms tight around him. In response, Liam rest his head on Louis’ chest. “You two are so cute together,” Harry smiled from where he was sitting on the armchair across the room. Liam blushed, Louis just smirked.

“So are you and Zayn dating now?” Louis asked with raised eyebrows. Both boys immediately flushed a bright red colour and looked anywhere but at each other or at Louis.

…

Before long, Niall was awake again, gurgling quietly in his crib. He sucked on his fingers as he waited for one of his daddies to come and get him. It felt like they were taking forever. Niall had only been awake about four minutes — which was a long time in little Niall’s world.

His nose scrunched up a little then as he felt his bowels were actually moving without him realising it. It was only when he felt it squishing up against his bum it came to his attention he was doing a poo. He gripped the fluffy blanket wrapped around him tightly as he grunted. His face was full of concentration whilst he started to push.

A few moments later he’d filled the back of his nappy and was feeling quite content with himself. He glanced around the dimly lit room then and whined, wondering where his daddies were. He used the bars of the crib to pull himself up to a sitting position.

“Dad,” he grumbled quietly, resting his forehead against the wooden bars of his crib. He watched the door for a few minutes but nobody came. Bored Niall looked for something to play with to keep himself entertained whilst he waited for his daddies. There was nothing in his crib to play with. A bored Niall began pulling at the buttons on his vest. They popped open to reveal his full nappy. He then began curiously pulling at the tabs of his nappy. The nappy soon fell open and Niall looked rather stunned as he looked between his legs. He’d never actually seen one of his dirty nappies.

Soon, little fingers were in things they shouldn’t have been and were spreading things they shouldn’t have been. He curiously felt it between his fingers before quickly realising he didn’t like the texture. He then proceeded to rub his fingers on his bedsheets to clean them off. Niall looked up at the doorway and when nobody was coming he deciding scooping more out of his nappy was a good idea. Soon, he had it all over his hands and was spreading it all over his bedsheets and himself. Then, he decided it would be fun to also spread it all over the wall his crib was against and before long, the wall, bars of his crib, sheets and blankets and himself were covered and his nappy was empty. He giggled as he did this, finding this game pretty amusing. He spread the last bit left on his hands on his pillow and the looked around, wondering what to do next.

When he heard footsteps approaching the room he immediately moved to the corner of his crib, covering himself with some of his many blanket which were now all dirty. It was Liam who had come to get him and when he entered the room, he didn’t suspect anything was amiss. “Oh, did you make a stinky?” Liam asked Niall but stopped in his tracks once he got close enough to see what Niall had done. “Oh Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Lord give me strength,” he gasped when he saw what he was met with. “Louis,” he yelled and immediately Niall’s eyes went wide. Although he didn’t exactly understand what he’d done wrong, he knew he was in trouble.

When Louis walked into the room, even he was a little taken aback and he’s seen everything. Wordlessly, he went over to Niall and picked him up, not even scrunching his nose at the smell. He silently took Niall to the bathroom and stood Niall in the shower after pulled his vest off him. Niall cried loudly as Louis turned on the shower. Liam stood in the doorway watching as Louis scrubbed Niall clean, having to hold him by his upper arm so he wouldn’t fall. When Louis abruptly let go to grab a towel, Niall fell backward against the wall with a bang. Although it startled the two boys, he didn’t cry.

Louis wrapped Niall in a towel and took him to the stairs. He placed Niall on the bottom step and then went back to their room where Liam was starting to strip Niall’s crib.

“Why would he do this?” Liam asked. Louis shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know, there’s a lot of psychological reasons behind it if they do it all the time but most kids do it once or twice out of curiosity. I think he just got curious - well I hope he doesn’t make this a habit anyway,” Louis shook his head as he helped Liam pull the crib away from the wall so they could clean it.

As the cleaned everything up they could hear Niall crying loudly from downstairs. He hated being in the naughty step, especially when he didn’t fully understand why he had been naughty. Right now, that was the case for Niall. In his head he was only playing, he didn’t really understand what was so naughty about what he did.

Sometime later Louis came and found Niall hovering on the step. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was only wrapped in a towel or if he was scared but either way it made Louis feel guilty. “Hey mister, you know why you’re here, don’t you?” Louis asked, watching Niall who was just staring at the floor solemnly. When he didn’t respond Louis sighed before speaking “You can’t spread your poopies everywhere, that’s really really naughty, Niall,” Louis gently told him. “It’s not a nice thing to do and it made daddy and papa really sad,” he told Niall who then started to cry more. He didn’t like making his daddies sad, he only wanted to make them happy.

Niall managed to choke out a “sorry” between his cries and Louis cooed and brought him into his arms. He held Niall to his chest as he stood up, gently rocking him in his arms as he brought him back upstairs to the bathroom.

Louis knelt down between Niall’s legs, unfolding a nappy. Just as he grabbed Niall’s ankles and held him up to slip his nappy under his bum, Louis saw a little golden stream in the air. “Fuck,” he cursed but decided not to say anything because he knew Niall was unaware he was going. Niall must have noticed then because a little grunt came from between his lips as he pushed and his stream projected further — onto poor Louis’ face to be exact. Louis quickly held the nappy protectively over his face, which in hindsight would have been more effective if he placed the nappy over Niall’s crotch because now, Niall was just peeing on his hands. When his stream got a little weaker, his pee was hitting poor Louis’ chest and then his legs before he dribbled to nothing.

“Good lord, give me strength,” Louis sighed as he looked down at Niall who was contently sucking on his thumb. He got Liam to take over — who was almost peeing himself from laughing so hard at what happened — and then went to wash off. Liam put a nappy on Niall, some leggings and a shirt on him.

A while later, Niall was in his ballpit, leggings off of course as for some reason Niall hates wearing trousers these days. He smiled behind a plastic ball, drooling around it as Liam entered the room. “Look, Niall your friend is back,” Liam smiled as Danny ran into the room. Niall squealed when he saw him and dropped the ball he was gnawing on. Danny ran over to him, jumping into the ballpit and hugging Niall tightly. The boys screamed excitedly as they hugged one another. “Jesus, you guys are loud,” Liam covered his ears. He chuckled quietly as they giggled, bouncing up and down in the ballpit.

“Niall’s my best friend,” Danny said, his arms still tight around Niall’s much smaller torso. Liam cooed quietly, smiling at the two boys.

“Is he your best friend, Niall?” Liam asked. Niall nodded shyly, smiling behind his fingers he was now sucking on. Oil came in to see if Danny was okay before he left but Niall and him were too immersed in playing with some Peppa figures that he didn’t even look up.

The boys left them to it and Liam checked on them every little while but they didn’t seem to be causing any havoc. They were loud but didn’t appear to be doing anything they shouldn’t have been.

Before dinner, Liam changed Niall whilst Louis helped Danny to go potty. When Liam opened Niall’s nappy, he was surprised with what he found. It wasn’t any of Niall’s business but instead his Peppa figure. “Uh, Niall, what’s that doing in your nappy?” Liam asked, raising an eyebrow at Niall. Niall immediately tried to grab it from him but Liam wouldn’t let him. “No, that’s dirty now, you can’t put toys in your nappy Niall, that’s naughty,” he gave out to Niall as he threw the Peppa figure in the sink to be washed later.

“Peppa,” Niall whined, trying to sit up to get it. Liam held Niall down and just cleaned him off, taping a new nappy around his waist.

“Well, if you wanted the toy that bad you shouldn’t have put it in your nappy,” Liam said when Niall started crying. He took Niall to the kitchen then where Danny was already sitting with Louis. Liam strapped Niall into his highchair where a small plate of food and a sippy cup was already waiting for him.

“Okay, first one to finish their dinner gets this bag of sweets,” Louis held up a bag of pick n’ mix sweets. Both boys eyes lit up and Danny immediately began to eat his much larger plate than Niall’s. Niall looked down at his plate, a little more unwilling to eat, even with the incentive of sweets.

“Come on, eat up Niall,” Liam encouraged. Niall whined and sat back in his highchair, trying to push the tray away from him. When the boys started to praise Danny for eating Niall got a little jealous. Then, a few minutes later, Niall’s plate was empty.

“Niall, well done!” Liam smiled when he saw Niall had cleared his plate. Niall smiled widely and giggled. “You’ve done so well,” Liam said.

“But Danny finished first so he gets the sweets,” Louis said, eyeing Niall suspiciously as he handed the bag over to Danny. Niall’s bottom lip quivered and he immediately began to cry loudly. He looked extremely jealous now and just sobbed loudly, kicking his legs against the plastic of his highchair.

“Oh, Niall, look I just found another bag,” Louis said, holding up another bag of sweets. Niall’s tears immediately stopped and he smiled at Louis. He held his hands out for the bag which he almost ripped from Louis’ hands when he held it out. “Say thank you,” Louis raised an eyebrow at him.

“Thank -oo,” Niall giggled. Liam lifted Niall out of his highchair and frowned when he saw a french fry popping out of Niall’s nappy. He looked to Louis who also gave him a knowing glance. Louis speculated Niall had done something with his food, he just didn’t think he’d shoved it all in his nappy.

Liam brought Niall to the bathroom and surely enough when he opened Niall’s nappy he found Niall’s whole meal of chicken nuggets and fries. “Niall, why did you do this?” Liam snapped as he got a new nappy out of the pack. Niall just giggled whilst opening his bag of sweets. “No, you didn’t eat your dinner you shouldn’t be getting any sweets,” Liam scolded which made Niall’s smile vanish. Liam took the bag from him, not saying a word as he taped another nappy around his waist. “You were a bad boy to lie to your daddies like that,” Liam said as he stood up. Niall sat on the floor and started to cry but neither of the boys pitied him.

Some time later, both boys were sat watching a film before bed. Niall only had a bottle of milk whereas Danny had his bag of sweets and he even got a fruit shoot which Niall didn’t think was fair at all. He wanted sweets and a fruit shoot too. From where he was sat on the sofa he just cried silently. He’d been crying loudly since he got in trouble but neither of his daddies paid any attention to him. He didn’t understand why they were being so mean.

Danny noticed how sad Niall looked and patted the space next to him on the floor. Niall pushed his blankets off him and slid off the couch to sit next to him, the nipple of the bottle between his teeth. “You can have some,” he whispered. He looked up at Louis and Liam, being sure they weren’t paying attention. Both were cuddled up to one another on their phones. Danny gave Niall a handful of sweets and a rather elated Niall now continued to watch the film. Danny was very generous and even shared his fruit shoot with Niall, letting him take sips when the boys weren’t watching.

When Liam stood up, Niall immediately panicked and shoved the sweets he was holding into his nappy before Liam could see them. “You two-day for bed?” Liam asked, stretching his arms above his head as he yawned. Niall only stared at him with guilty eyes as he picked up Niall’s still full milk bottle and placed it on the coffee table. He placed Niall on his hip and took Danny’s hand, leading them upstairs where he first changed Danny from a pull-up into a nappy and got him in one of his onesies. With Danny safely tucked in Niall’s crib, Liam went about getting Niall changed. When he opened Niall’s nappy he groaned loudly. “Niall, one where did you get these sweets and two, why are they in your nappy?” Liam asked as Louis entered the room.

Niall just looked up at him as he sucked on his fingers, not seeming too bothered. “Niall for gods sake why are you being so naughty today?” Liam asked as he pulled the nappy from under Niall. When Niall tried to grab the sweets from the nappy Liam immediately slapped his hand. “No, bad boy that’s dirty,” Liam scolded.

“Jeez, calm down,” Louis chuckled from behind Liam, gently massaging his shoulders. “No need to get so worked up over this, its not a big deal,” Louis told him as he watched Niall giggle at Danny. Liam groaned, running a hand through his hair.

“Okay, yeah, you’re right,” he took a deep breath as he grabbed a new nappy. “Stop touching yourself,” Liam pushed Niall’s hands away from his crotch. Niall’s hands went straight back again and he giggled as he held his bits, as did Danny who was watching. “Niall!” Liam yelled.

“Liam, you get so pent up over the littlest of things,” Louis chuckled. “Every boy touches their bits.”

“Well, I don’t wanna see our little boy do it,” Liam retorted.

“It’s innocent though,” Louis reminded him as he handed Liam Niall’s pyjamas. Louis took Niall and put him into the crib with Danny. He had planned to put one sleeping at the top and one at the bottom but they were only in bed a minute or so before Danny moved up so he was cuddling Niall. He just cooed and draped a blanket around them before leaving.

…

The following morning, Niall seemed to be keeping up his naughty antics. Liam made breakfast whilst Louis changed the boys. While Louis’ back was turned Niall had poured a bottle of hand wash out on the floor and started playing with it. From where Danny was sat in front of Louis he was giggling loudly.

Louis turned around to see what Danny was laughing at and immediately turned around again, deciding just to pretend he didn’t see what he just did. It was too early for yelling and time outs.

When Liam came to check on how Louis was getting on, he almost fainted at what he was met with. “Daddy,” Niall squealed, holding out hands which were covered in strawberry-lace hand wash. “Good god, give me strength,” he sighed. ’Niall James Horan, what have you done,” Liam asked. Immediately Niall squealed and crawled over to Danny for protection.

“You’re in trouble,” Louis chuckled as he pulled Danny’s jeans up. Niall just giggled, finding Liam’s reaction amusing. When Liam put Niall in timeout he just thought it was a game, crawling out every time Liam put him back and giggling each time. Usually, he hated when his daddies were mad at him but for some reason, today he just liked being a little rebel.

Even when Liam tried to get an apology out of him he just giggled as he said it, not seeming very repentant. Liam just took the apology and carried Niall to the kitchen where everyone had already finished their breakfast.

“You can wait until we come home for your breakfast,” Louis said as he packed up Danny’s bag. They had to leave him home now because he was going to see his psychologist this morning.

Liam left Niall down and went to get his jacket and coat. When he looked for the car keys, he couldn’t find them though. “You had them last,” Louis said as they all looked around the hallway. Both boys were baffled because their car keys never left their place next to the front door. They spent ten minutes looking for these keys before they looked to a giggling Niall and both raised their eyebrows. Niall crawled off and surely enough, they heard the jingling of keys in his nappy.

…

“Now, it goes in your mouth today, not your nappy,” Louis told Niall as he started spooning some porridge into his mouth. Niall giggled but only ate a few bites before his little tummy was full. The porridge was a little heavy on his stomach and he didn’t like how it made him feel. The giggly, terrible toddler wasn’t long leaving Niall and before long he’d reverted back to a very little Niall who wanted cuddles. Louis brought him to the living room where he nursed Niall, giving him a bottle of his formula. This was too much for his little tummy to handle and before long he got sick on Louis’ top. Quite used to this sort of thing, he just wiped off his shirt with a towel and went back to making sure Niall was okay.

Niall wouldn’t even hold himself up now and must have been feeling very small. It amazed Louis how he could get so small so fast. Sometimes he’d act older but Louis liked him this little, where they needed to do absolutely everything for him. Louis had to even hold Niall in a certain position so his neck wouldn’t get hurt, he really was in a baby mindset right now.

He popped a pacifier in Niall’s mouth and gently rocked him, wiping the tears from under his eyes. As he watched Niall stare at the ceiling, it came to his brisk attention how much Niall trusted them now. He was no longer nervous around them and in the little mindset he’s in right now, he literally has put all his trust into them. He was so vulnerable and could be so easily manipulated right now. It made his blood boil as he thought of Niall’s father. It was his father’s fault Niall had taken so long to trust them but he was so glad he finally did.

“He’s really little right now,” Louis smiled as Liam came into the room. He took a seat next to Louis and smiled down at Niall. It was a change from the loud boisterous Niall they had this morning because now he was silent and still, but looking very content as he sucked on his dummy.

“I love when he’s little,” Liam smiled.

“So do I,” Louis agreed.

“Not causing any trouble now,” Liam chuckled, gently stroking Niall’s cheek. Niall pressed into his touch and his eyes fluttered closed.

“I love him both ways, whether he just wants to be held or he’s shoving things down his nappy and pouring hand wash all over the floor,” Louis chuckled. Liam hummed in agreement, both boys smiling widely at one another. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii, sorry this is late but better late than never!! I might not have an update ready next saturday because I have oral exams this week and I know I'm gonna be super stressed and busy lmao, so if I don't get an update up, that's why! 
> 
> As always, thanks for your requests and leave what you wanna see down below!! Anything you guys want, don't be shy, I'm not judgemental haha! So yeah, thanks for everything, lots of love, A x


	23. Chapter 23

Louis glanced down at Niall who was lying in Harry’s arms, his eyes drooping closed he sucked on a bottle of milk. He was feeling especially little today, which wasn’t usually a problem for the boys. Littler Niall was generally a little easier to care for than toddler Niall. At least with very little Niall if you left him lying somewhere he wouldn’t budge. So they boys could leave him lying on a play mat in his playroom and go about doing what they needed to without worrying. Whereas toddler Niall wouldn’t sit still, he liked to be in things and just fundamentally causing trouble wherever he went. Toddler Niall needed to be watched twenty-four seven basically. Although, in saying that little Niall demanded a lot of attention as well as he generally just wanted to be held. Either way, it usually wasn’t an issue when he was especially little, but today he was supposed to see his psychologist in the morning and the boys didn’t know how that was going to happen if Niall was still in a headspace where he wouldn’t speak.

“You need to be bigger by morning, Ni,” Louis said, gently ruffling Niall’s hair. Niall gurgled behind his bottle, smiling at Louis. Milk then dribbling down his chin which Harry wiped with his bib.

“Yeah bud, you gotta talk,” Harry said. Niall just looked up at the ceiling and put his fingers in his mouth, drooling around them. Harry sat Niall up the burp him, having to hold an arm around Niall to support his body up. Niall drooped over his arm, sucking on his fingers as he watched his daddies with a smile.

“Any burpies for us, Niall?” Louis asked with a smile, kneeling down so he was face-to-face with him. Niall giggled, his fingers still in his mouth as Harry patted his back. Ten minutes later, Niall still hadn’t burped and was beginning to get a little fussy in Harry’s arms. Niall started wriggling and whining, growing uncomfortable.

“Come to papa,” Louis cooed, taking Niall from Harry’s arms. Louis stood up with Niall over his shoulder where he began to attempt to burp him, all the while Niall cried. Histories only grew louder over the next few minutes which not only frustrated him but the two boys who were with him. Liam and Zayn had gone out to some movie they were excited to see which left Harry and Louis with Niall.

Niall only continued to cry for the next ten minutes so Louis held a dummy in his mouth until he started to suck on it. He placed Niall on the floor where there were some pillows and blankets to support him which meant if he got sick he was in a half sitting position so he wouldn’t choke.

Niall sucked on the dummy for a few minutes but then he started to cry again. “What’s wrong?” Louis cooed, coming back and attempting to put his dummy back in his mouth. “Do you miss your daddy?” He cooed. He then took Liam’s jumper from the couch and gently placed it beside Niall’s face so he’d be able to smell it and almost immediately his cries stopped. He cuddled the sweater tight to his chest and seemed content once again.

A while later, a fussy Niall was back in Harry’s arms. He seemed uncomfortable in some way and Harry assumed he had wind from his feed Although when he tried to burp Niall he only seemed to get even more fussy. “Whats wrong with you?” Harry asked as Niall started to cry harder. Then, without warning Niall projected vomited, hitting Louis right in the chest as he was standing in front of them. As soon as he was sick, he stopped crying and gurgled in Harry’s arms. “Oh, so that’s what was wrong,” Harry chuckled as Louis looked down at his shirt in shock.

“Well, thanks for that one, Niall,” Louis raised an eyebrow at Niall. Niall was glancing up at him, fingers in his mouth as he giggled. Although the boys were trying to get Niall to go to sleep, he wouldn’t. Louis presumed he wanted to stay up until Liam came home, even though he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

Liam soon came through the front door and Louis nudged Niall. “Look, daddy’s home!” Louis exclaimed. Niall’s eyes immediately opened and a smile erupted on his face.

“Daddy’s here,” Liam chuckled when he saw how excited Niall was to see him. He held his arms out to Liam and smiled excitedly. “I missed you,” Liam kissed Niall’s cheek once he was on his hip.

“Niall missed you too,” Louis gestured to the sweater Niall had been cuddling. Liam cooed quietly and cuddled Niall tighter to his chest.

“My baby,” Liam cooed, rubbing Niall’s back as he gurgled in Liam’s arms, smiling sleepily up at him. “I think it is well past your bedtime, little man,” Liam said to Niall as he began to take him upstairs. Niall didn’t protest but only whined when Liam tucked him into his cot. Liam gave Niall his dummy and teddy before leaving the room and going back downstairs to the boys.

They had only just gone to sleep when the boys were abruptly awoken by Niall who was crying rather loudly. Louis got up, rubbing his eyes. He knew what was wrong. The nights they had very little Niall, he would wake up in the middle of the night wanting milk.

Louis prepared the bottle of milk, bringing it upstairs. He got back into bed where Niall was waiting for him, chewing impatiently on his fingers. Louis soon replaced his fingers with the bottle of warm milk. He lay down next to him and held the bottle whilst Niall drank it.

Little Niall had night routine as well as a day one. Once he’d finished his bottle, Louis got a nappy ready knowing he’d either already peed or was going to in the next few minutes. When Niall started wriggling on the bed, Louis knew he’d just wet himself so he got to work on changing him.

Freshly in a nappy, Louis burped Niall and then tucked him back into his crib, hoping that would be him until morning. They weren’t so lucky though and just before five, Niall was crying again. Both boys groaned and Louis was about to get up when Liam stopped him. “I have him this time, babe,” he kissed his cheek before going and tending to Niall. He was soon back in his crib and asleep again but neither of the boys could find sleep again. They cuddled one another, trying to fall back asleep but now that there was light filtering through their curtains they couldn’t sleep. Instead, they made out for a little while, enjoying fondling with one another.

Just after seven, they were falling asleep again when Niall started to cry. With a groan, Louis got up, knowing this was them up for the day now. Both boys were rather exhausted now so they just brought Niall in for some sleepy cuddles from both the boys. Niall whined between them, wriggling around because he was hungry. Some minutes later, Liam jumped when he felt warmth and wetness around his nipple. He looked down and found Niall sucking on it. This certainly woke him up.

“Louis, what the hell is he doing?” Liam asked, looking down rather shocked. Louis cracked his eyes opened and glanced down at Niall who was still sucking.

“He’s hungry,” Louis replied, closing his eyes again. Liam sat in disbelief at how now even this freaked Louis’ out. Very little actually got much of a reaction out of him. It’s as though he’s seen it all before — which he probably has.

“Is this normal?” Liam’s expressing was contorted as he watched Niall.

“No, but maybe he was breastfed as a baby and now he’s hungry so,” Louis shrugged, not even opening his eyes.

‘Well, I’m not breastfeeding him,” Liam quickly responded.

“Liam, might I remind you, you have to actually have breasts to breastfeed,” Louis rolled his eyes, starting to laugh at how stupid Liam could be at times. Liam’s cheeks just flushed and he hid his blushing face in Niall’s hair with a whine.

…

In the waiting room, Liam was holding a still small Niall who was sucking on a dummy contently. “Ni, you need to get big really soon,” Louis said, pulling Niall’s dummy from his mouth which only had him whining loudly. “You gotta be big,” Louis insisted. “Maybe the woman at reception will give you sweets again if you’re a big boy and go ask,” Louis tried to urge Niall who only looked at him as if he had two heads. He was just offended Louis has taken his dummy when he was quite happy to lay in Liam’s arms sucking on it.

When he didn’t get his dummy back, Niall started to cry rather loudly. He was happy with his dummy, why did papa have to ruin that? When he didn’t stop crying, the receptionist came into the room with her bowl of sweets, offering them to Niall. “Do you want one?” She asked with a smile. Niall’s face immediately erupted into a smile and he giggled. He shyly reached forward and took two sweets, smiling up at the lady shyly.

“Say thank you,” Liam nudged Niall’s side.

“Ta,” he quietly said which made the receptionist smile.

“You’re welcome. Niall,” she smiled, gently ruffling his hair. Niall giggled before placing one of the sweets in Louis’ lap and giving the other to Liam.

“Don’t you want one?” Louis raised an eyebrow at Niall who quickly shook his head. It’s not the first time he did this and the boys weren’t surprised. They found it rather sweet that he always wanted to make them happy. Niall just settled back in Liam’s arms, sucking on his fingers to pacify himself seeing as his papa took his dummy off him for no good reason.

A few minutes later, Niall was called into the room. Liam tried to get him to walk but Niall wouldn’t even stand for him. With a deep sigh, he carried Niall into the room and just hoped the psychologist could still work with very little Niall.

When the psychologist asked for the boys to leave, Niall started to cry from the couch Liam had left him sitting on. He watched the door from where he was sitting, crying rather loudly.

  
“Your daddies are going to be back in just a little bit, they have to do some shopping so you’re staying here to play with me, isn’t that okay?” She asked. When Niall’s bottom lip only wobbled and tears continued to roll down his cheeks she resorted to attempting to distract him. “Hey Niall, we have loads of toys here, wanna play with me?” She asked, sitting in front of the doll house again and holding out a figure to Niall.

A hesitant Niall slid off the couch and bum shuffled a little closer to her. He took the toy from her grasp and shyly smiled up at her. He didn’t feel as nervous around her this time as he remembered her. When Niall started to quietly play, she smiled as she watched him.

“Hey, you know you’re safe here, don’t you? This is a safe room, it’s only us two and nobody else,” she said to Niall. He looked at her with big eyes but didn’t give a response. “You can be big Niall, I promise you’re safe here, its only us,” she assured him. “Do you think big Niall could come and talk to me?” She asked but Niall immediately shook his head. “That’s okay, big Niall doesn’t have to come if he doesn’t want to but big Niall knows he’s safe if he does wanna come, yeah?” She asked and Niall gave a small nod.

Niall just went back to playing, incoherently babbling to himself in a language only he could decipher. After a while of her asking Niall simple questions and not getting much of a response, Niall seemed to be growing comfortable. She wasn’t forcing him to be big which made Niall feel safe — and he liked her.

“So what is Niall doing now?” She asked, gesturing to the toys hanging limply in Niall’s hands whilst he stared at the wall.

“I’m big,” he quietly said, letting the toy figures fall from his hands. She smiled assuringly at him.

“You’re safe here, and if you don’t feel safe, little Niall is welcome to come back,” she said which seemed to mollify Niall. He watched her as she moved to the armchair and then gestured to the couch. “Do you wanna sit up there?” She asked him. Niall stood up with a bit of effort and then made his way — wobbling — to the couch where he quickly sat before he fell.

“Niall, how happy is little Niall on a scale on 1-10 on a normal day, 10 being as happy as he could be and 1 being extremely sad?”

“9,” Niall quietly responded, picking at his nails anxiously.

“And how about big Niall, where’s he on the scale on a general, normal day?”

“Are there any minuses on the scale?” He asked, looking up at her with watery eyes.

“What makes you happy being little?” She asked.

“Well, I feel safe and when I’m in my headspace, I don’t have to think about anything that I worry about when I’m big,” he replied quietly, not looking up at her as he felt too embarrassed. When he rested his hands on his leggings, it was then he felt the padding of the nappy he was wearing under them and he felt his cheeks flare up even more.

“When did you start regressing?” She asked him.

“It started when I was like six. At that age it wasn’t an issue. For a day or two I might just seem clingy and want a dummy but as I got older, it happened more frequently any time I was stressed or scared. I never got any help for it and whenever it happened, da would just get more and more mad,” he sighed.

“What do you think triggered it when you were younger?”

Niall ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply. “Mum and da split up when I was really young and I stayed with him. I really missed my mum because da wasn’t good to me. He drank a lot and he had a short temper. I could just accidentally spill my milk and he’d have battered me black and blue, any excuse to hit me really,” his eyes filled with tears as he spoke.

“So did being little help you when your da was angry?”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Cuddling my teddy and sucking on a dummy always calmed me down. At first, it was more of a comfort thing that if I was scared I’d do that, but then it turned into something that made me oblivious to reality.”

“And when did the regressions start lasting longer?” She asked.

“When I was about twelve or thirteen I’d say,” Niall quietly replied. “When I was that age the depression and anxiety started too. Before that, I would only regress for a day or two at the most and I always still had some control over it but at that age, that was when it got pretty bad. That was when I started not being able to dress or feed myself and when I’d get incontinent,” his cheeks flushed as he spoke. “Da would get really mad because he didn’t have the patience to look after me.”

“And what made the regression last longer?”

Tears began rolling down Niall’s cheeks. He didn’t like remembering what happened. “Da used to take his friends back to the house and drink. His friends weren’t always nice and some of them used to do horrible things to me,” Niall’s body trembled a little as he spoke.

“What did they do Niall?” She asked, coming over and taking a seat next to Niall. She placed a hand on his back and rubbed it gently in an attempt to comfort him.

“I didn’t know what they were doing at the time.” The tears were rolling down his cheeks more rapidly. “I didnt understand what was happening. I didn’t know,” he repeated. “It just made me miss my mum so bad. She wasn’t always nice, she sometimes hit too but she never yelled at me like da and her friends were never nasty to me,” he sobbed.

“Why, what did his friends do?”

“They- they r-raped me,” he whispered the last bit like it was a word that should have never been uttered. “A lot. I’d hear someone coming into the room and think ‘oh no, not again, please’. I’d cry out for da, for someone to help but nobody ever came. I was always on my own.”

“Oh Niall,” she brought him into his arms and hugged him tight.

“I could scream as loud as my lungs would let me and I would have been as well not screaming at all. I felt as though nothing was coming out because my cries were always ignored. I'd tell da what they did but he didn't seem to care. He just told me to man up. That’s what started making me go very small, to the point where I wouldn’t know my surroundings but it helped me forget everything that happened and made me feel better,” he whimpered. 

“Did this last long?”

“Until I was sixteen. That’s when I moved out to be in the band and I got help myself. I didn’t regress then the whole time I was in the band, five years, I was well proud of myself,” Niall smiled as he spoke.

“Why do you think that was?”

“I was happy, I felt like I mattered for once and everyone treated me nice for a change. I wasn’t around my father so I wasn’t around that stress that made me regress. I was just happy,” he smiled.

“Then what’s caused you to start regressing again?”

“Well, it started when my depression started coming back. When I stopped having things to do every day, the depression was slowly creeping back. The thoughts I had when I was on my own scared the shit out of me. I could have been out doing things but you know, the depression stopped me from doing them. I started cooping myself up at home and I wouldn’t go anywhere or see anyone. I felt so trapped in my own house, in my own head. So I called me da for help. He told me he’d stopped drinking and that he had a girlfriend and all now so he asked if I wanted to come home so I wouldn’t be alone. He said he wanted to take care of me but boy, was I dumb. I went home but things had not changed whatsoever. He had not stopped drinking and I never met the so called girlfriend,” he sighed.

“So anyway, I was vulnerable and he took advantage of that. Once again the abuse started and in the vulnerable state my mental health was in I didn’t know what to do to help myself. Every single day I had terrifying thoughts. I hated myself and with my dad yelling horrible things to me, it only confirmed my fears that I was useless. Slowly but surely I fell into a headspace that I did not want to come out of for once. My depression had never been so bad, I didn’t want to be big again because my own thoughts scared me so for months I stayed in my headspace. My dad basically locked me in my room and only left food in with me when he remembered and yeah. I don’t remember much but I think Liam came and he took me and yeah. For the first time in my life then I was actually being taken care of,” Niall smiled softly to himself.

“So would you want to stay big again?” She asked Niall who shook his head.

“No, big Niall still scares me, he has thoughts that I don’t like and for now, little Niall feels safer,” he replied quietly.

…

Louis and Liam were called back into the room and Harry, who had arrived a while ago, worried about Niall, took Niall to the waiting room to sit with him.

“Niall did a lot of talking today. I got him to come out of his headspace and he’s told me a lot,” she smiled at the boys who looked rather relieved Niall had spoken to someone.

“He’s told me that he had a very tough time at home, there was a lot of abuse going on and to help himself, his coping mechanism was to regress,” she told the boys. “I think that although regression is an odd way of coping with things, I think it helps Niall a lot. It makes him feel safe and with you guys, he’s told me that he’s extremely happy every day,” she smiled which made the boys smile.

“I know it’s pretty sad to say, but I don’t think Niall was ever really happy up until he met you guys. Even as a young child. He’s told me that his parents split up when he was six and this is when it all kind of started. But even before then, he’s told me his parents weren’t very nice to him,” she sighed. “I think the regression is partly a cooping mechanism but also, from a clinical perspective, I think Niall regresses because being a toddler or a baby was the only time Niall didn’t have to deal with all those thoughts in his head. It was the only time in his life up until then that he was happy because at that age he wasn’t fully aware of anything going on. I know it’s sad to think, but to understand it, you’d have to know what he went though,” she told them and both Liam and Louis could feel their eyes filling up with tears at the thought that Niall — one of the happiest people they knew — was actually so damaged and hurt.

“Wow, he never told us that,” Liam quietly said. “I knew he regressed but I never knew why. He told us all when we were in the band, probably in case it happened but it never did.”

“Yes, he told me being in the band were his happiest of years,” she smiled. “He really does love you guys to pieces,” she chuckled. “But yeah, if we could get Niall out of his headspace I think we would need to get him on medication. He’s never taken any and I think anti-depressants and some other pills might help with those thoughts he has.”

“But we like him little, we don’t want him to come out of his headspace,” Liam pouted a little.

“He doesn’t have to come out of it if you guys are happy to continue like this but I think it might be a good thing for him. Whenever he’s ready though. We can’t force him out of his headspace, when he’s ready to be big again we can start him on some medication which I think will be of good help to him,” she told the boys who nodded. “But until he’s ready, I’ll continue to see him every little while to see how he’s keeping,” she smiled.

“Thank you so much,” Louis shook her hand. They walked out to where Harry was sitting with a rather anxious looking Niall. It was clear to them he was still big because little Niall was never this anxious looking anymore.

“Wanna go home, Niall?” Louis asked him, holding out a hand to Niall. Niall’s cheeks just flushed as he stood up. He didn’t take Louis’ hand but instead just followed behind the boys closely to the car. The whole journey home, he didn’t speak a word and once home, he just silently followed one of the boys around the house, not wanting to be on his own. If he was on his own, he was on his own with his thoughts and that scared Niall. At one point, he even followed Liam into the toilet “Niall, I’m only going to be a minute,” he chuckled, trying to close the door on him. He felt guilty

“Niall, I’m only going to be a minute,” he chuckled, trying to close the door on him. He felt guilty then when he saw Niall’s eyes fill with tears. “Okay, you can come in,” Liam gave in. Niall stood staring at himself in the mirror whilst Liam did what he needed to do. He didn’t find it that awkward considering most mornings Niall was in the bathroom with him, it’s just he was usually little.

“I’m really sorry,” Niall quietly said when Liam came over to wash his hands.

“What for?” He furrowed his eyebrows.

“That you always have to look after me,” he quietly spoke, bowing his head so he didn’t have to make eye contact with Liam.

“Ni, I love looking after you,” Liam wrapped an arm around Niall and kissed the top of his head. “You have no reason to be sorry,” he smiled. Niall felt tears rolling down his cheeks just because being loved was such a foreign feeling to big Niall. It made him feel so warm inside. These weren't tears of sadness, they were ones of happiness.  “Now, do you need a nappy change?” Liam asked which immediately had Niall’s cheeks flushing red. Niall shook his head, biting on his lip. He actually needed the toilet now Liam reminded him but he didn’t know how to tell Liam. When he wriggled a little, Liam knew.

“Ni, you wanna go potty?” He asked. Niall nodded, even though he found this rather patronising. He was talking to him like he was a baby. But I guess he has been a baby for the last few months.

“Yes,” Niall quietly said. Without even asking him Liam was pulling down his leggings which had Niall’s face glowing. Liam helped Niall onto the toilet and then turned around, throwing away the nappy — which was wet but Niall just didn’t know — and grabbing a new one. He stood with his back turned for a few minutes to give Niall a little privacy but nothing seemed to be happening. 

“Do you want me to leave?” Liam asked, turning around to face Niall. Niall was staring at the floor in concentration. He looked up and shook his head. “Okay, I’ll just turn around then, tell me when you’re done,” Liam smiled at him assuringly before turning around. A few minutes later, he heard the telltale sound of liquid hitting liquid and a small sigh from Niall. When the sound stopped, Niall very quietly told him he was done. Liam turned around with a nappy in hand but Niall’s eyes widened.

“I want boxers,” Niall quietly spoke. Liam nodded, deciding not to argue with Niall. He left the bathroom and when he had the Calvin Kleins in hand, he turned around to go back to the bathroom only to find Niall standing behind him. He was holding his bits with his hands and blushing quite a bit. Liam smiled softly at how clingy Niall was being, even big. He then let Niall dress himself but helped him with his trousers when he seemed to struggle a little. 

“Come on, the boys are downstairs with a takeaway,” Liam said. He picked up Niall without even thinking, carrying him down the stairs. Niall didn’t protest though, he liked being held like this. Liam sat Niall in his highchair without even thinking that he was big. A plate of pizza cut into small pieces was soon set in front of him along with a sippy cup of juice.

“Can I have a cup?” He asked which had all the boys staring at him with big eyes. They weren’t used to Niall talking normally, nor asking for a cup.

“Of course,” Louis got Niall a cup and set in in front of him. “Do you want to sit on a seat?” He asked Niall who shook his head. Although he was big, he felt safer in his highchair. Niall sat and quietly ate his food. When he was done, Harry took Niall to the living room where soon, all the boys were snuggled on one couch under a duvet, watching an adult movie for once. Niall was in the middle of them and before long, he was sucking on his thumb. When Louis noticed this, he swapped Niall’s thumb for a dummy. Niall looked up at him as he began to suck on the dummy and the boys knew he was slowly slipping back into his headspace.

Liam handed Niall his teddy which he pressed to his cheek whilst his eyes were glued on the telly. When Zayn started gently playing with Niall’s hair, Niall nuzzled his head into his chest, his eyes fluttering closed.

“He’s so sweet,” Liam cooed, gently rubbing Niall’s back. Niall was loving all this affection from the boys and was so relaxed he didn’t know he’d wet himself. Zayn jumped and looked down, immediately freaking out but Louis soon gave him a stern telling off.

“Zayn, don’t upset him, you knob,” Louis snapped. He picked up a rather sleepy Niall and without a word brought him to the bathroom. Niall’s eyes were half opened while he sucked on his dummy. Louis gently eased his wet leggings and boxers off him before beginning to wipe his thighs and bum down. Louis held Niall’s ankles, gently raising them up so he could wipe Niall’s bum. He then got the creases on Niall’s groin before wiping his public bone. Niall seemed to find this rather relaxing. His eyes were fully shut and he was breathing heavily. Louis then slid a nappy under his bum, pulling it up over his crotch. He taped it snugly around his crotch before carrying a rather content Niall to their bed.

…

In the middle of the night, Liam was rudely awoken by Niall who was in his crib. The little lad was screaming loudly and thrashing around. They both quickly got up and found that Niall was most definitely having a nightmare. Louis quickly shook Niall out of his sleep and brought his trembling frame into his arms. Niall sobbed into Louis’ shoulder, the sweat dripping off his body.

He hadn’t had a nightmare in a long time. Talking about all those memories little Niall had pushed back had brought back the trauma of it all, the recollection of all the years of abuse. In Louis’ arms, Niall knew he was safe, but continued to cry just out of fear. 

Louis stripped Niall off down his soaked nappy. He took that off as well and then wiped Niall’s sweaty body down with a towel. Niall’s shook the whole time, tears rolling down his cheek and his break coming in short gasps. “You’re safe here Niall, don’t worry,” Louis gently wiped under Niall’s eyes.

He got Niall in a new nappy and onesie before just holding him close to his chest, pressing kisses all over Niall’s face. “Nobody is gonna ever hurt you here and don’t ever forget that,” he said as Niall seemed to calm down a little. Small hiccups still came from his mouth as Louis rocked his body back and forth gently and Niall was still struggling to regulate his breathing. Louis rested Niall on his tummy and began massaging his back for him. In just a few minutes, Niall’s breathing was back to normal and his eyes were fluttering closed.

Liam then came in with a bottle of warm milk which was soon fed to Niall. This relaxed Niall even more and before the bottle was even half finished, he was fast asleep between the boys. Between the two, he was gripping one of each of their hands tightly in his even in his sleep. The boys found this rather cute and so decided to leave him in their bed for the rest of the night. They knew he’d be calmer and feel safer there.

As they watched Niall sleep, the never wanted any of this to end. As much as they knew he was going to be big at some stage again, they knew they were going to cherish every minute of little Niall that they got.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii, I decided I'm going to do a sequel to this book!! So I'll do a few more chapters and then we'll have more of their lives again!! 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you all for your constant support!! Please leave down below any requests that you want included in the book and don't be shy!! Love you all sooo much, I hope you're having/had a wonderful day, lots of love A Xx.


	24. Chapter 24

For once, the boys were up before Niall. From downstairs they heard Niall crying rather loudly, indicating he was awake and ready for his breakfast. Liam went up to get Niall who seemed to be crying in pain. “Ni, does something hurt,” Liam frowned as he watched Niall sob in his crib. Niall nodded and held his hands out to be picked out. “Oh, what hurts baby,” Liam cooed, placing Niall on his hip. As soon as Niall’s front was rested on Liam’s hip, he sobbed even louder.

“Owie,” he sobbed, tears rolling rapidly down his rosy cheeks. ‘Willy,” he cried which only confused Liam even more. He furrowed his eyebrows as he watched Niall’s contorted expression, only wishing he could make him feel better this instant.

“Your willy is sore?” Liam asked. Niall nodded, his hand soon pushing at his nappy which only had his crying harder. “Oh, have you got a nappy rash baby,” Liam cooed, suddenly putting two and two together. He carried Niall to the bathroom where he got out the creams needed for a rash. When he undid Niall’s nappy though, he wasn’t met with a nappy rash. Instead, Niall’s cock sprung up, flopping onto his stomach, red and engorged. Niall didn’t have a nappy rash. Niall had a pretty hefty erection. The size of his willy actually intimidated Liam.

Liam almost screamed and immediately started yelling on Louis. Niall had calmed down a little, now that his erection wasn't being forced downward it didn’t hurt as much and was feeling a little more comfortable.

“Jesus, what’s all the yelling about?” Louis asked as he came into the bathroom.

“Our son has an erection,” Liam exclaimed, gesturing to Niall who was sitting sucking on his fingers with red eyes.

“Okay, and why are you freaking out?”

“Why aren’t you freaking out?”

“Because we all get erections in the morning Liam. Every man gets erections pretty frequently and little boys do too, don’t they Niall,” Louis cooed at Niall, not phased by this at all. “It’s natural, you’ve just gotta do a pee-pee don’t you?” Louis asked Niall who giggled from his position on the changing mat.

As though Liam wasn’t already freaked out enough, Niall freaked him out even more. His hands were soon on his willy, tugging and toying with it. “Niall, no, that’s dirty and naughty,” Liam scolded, pushing Niall’s hands away. “We do not touch our willies, especially not in front of our daddies,” he gave out. Niall wasn’t listening though and before Liam had even finished speaking, his hands were all over himself again. “Niall, no!” Liam yelled.

“Liam, calm down,” Louis chuckled. Louis knew in Niall’s headspace he didn’t actually know what he was doing. He was only innocently experimenting and trying to make it feel better. When Liam yelled though, he started to cry because he was only trying to make his pee-pee feel better, he didn’t like this feeling and didn’t understand what it was in his headspace. Little Niall had never had one this bad. He had little ones from time to time but neither he nor his daddies ever noticed them. So this was all new to him.

“He’s just trying to make it feel better, if you were that hard you’d be touching yourself too,” Louis said. “Or I’d be touching it,” he cheekily added with a wink as he wet a flannel under the tap. He brought it over to Niall and placed the cold, wet flannel over his bits. In a few minutes, Niall’s erection was shrinking. “There, it's gone, no need to panic now,” Louis removed the cloth from Niall’s bits to reveal his penis back to its normal looking sight. Liam breathed a sigh of relief which was soon interrupted by a warm wetness. He looked down and surely enough, Niall was peeing full force into the air, his toes curling in relief. Louis watched, rather impressed by how far he was spraying — onto poor Liam’s chest.

Liam covered Niall’s crotch with a nappy to catch it all. He shook his head, chuckling quietly at Niall who was giggling quite loudly. He was kicking his legs as he giggled, seeming all proud of his work.

“Little boys are the worst,” Louis chuckled as he started to clean up the puddle.

“Is he ready?” Zayn asked, popping his head into the bathroom. He and Harry had just arrived to take Niall to theirs for the day. It wasn’t that he had to go to their house, the boys weren't doing anything in particular but Harry and Zayn just wanted to have Niall for the day.

“Baba!” Niall exclaimed from where he was lying. Niall was wriggling around, wanting Zayn to pick him up. Liam skilfully got his nappy taped on and Niall was crawling over Zayn. Zayn cooed when Niall wrapped his arms his leg and cuddled it.

“He’s so cute,” Zayn cooed before leaning down and picking Niall up. He kissed Niall’s cheek once he was in his arms, bouncing a rather exuberant Niall gently. As he bounced Niall he babbled away excitedly to Zayn as though telling him a story in his own little language. “Wow, really?” Zayn pretended to know what Niall was saying. Niall just giggled and nodded.

“Are you excited to come with me and Zayn?” Harry asked, coming behind Zayn and gently pinching his cheek. Niall squealed and nodded, not seeming to have any anxieties about leaving his daddies now. He trusted Zayn and Harry now as much as he trusted Liam and Louis.

Liam gave Harry Niall bag whilst Louis attempted to dress and non-cooperative Niall. Niall didn’t want to wear leggings. For some reason, he just hates wearing trousers whilst he’s in his toddler mindset.

“Niall, stop messing,” Louis said as he pulled a pair of red leggings up Niall’s legs. Niall just giggled as he tried to push Louis away but toddler Niall wasn’t much stronger than baby Niall so his attempts were fruitless.

“Come on, mister,” Zayn scooped Niall up.

“Where’s our goodbye kisses?” Louis asked, coming over to Niall. Niall sloppily kissed Louis before doing the same to Liam. For once, Niall wasn’t crying leaving his daddies and didn’t seem to miss them at all once at Zayn’s house. His trousers were off before they’d even gotten inside and before Harry had even set down Niall’s bag, he was in one of Zayn’s cupboards in the kitchen, pulling everything out of it.

“Okay, let’s not do that,” Zayn said, picking Niall up. He chuckled when he saw Niall had a muffin sticking out of his mouth. “Did I say you could have that?” Zayn asked, trying to pull the muffin from his mouth. Niall had a tight grip on it though and when Zayn pulled it, it split in half. Niall giggled behind it but soon spat it out when he realised it had cherries in it. “Good God, he’s only here three minutes and he’s already made a mess,” Zayn chuckled as Niall crawled off, leaving sticky handprints on the tiles.

“No,” Harry quickly went and scooped Niall up before he crawled onto Zayn’s white carpet with his sticky chocolate muffin covered hands. Niall smiled widely at Harry with chocolate covered teeth, his sticky fingers going back into his mouth. Zayn came over with some wet wipes, wiping Niall’s fingers and around his mouth. When Zayn wiped the corner of Niall’s mouth, Niall screamed. Zayn jumped back, scared he had hurt Niall but soon realised Niall was only messing with him when he erupted into giggles.

“Naughty boy,” Zayn shook his head. “Naughty,” Zayn repeated before beginning to tickle Niall’s sides which had him squealing loudly.

“Baba, no,” Niall gasped between giggles and squeals, trying to push Zayn’s hands away. Zayn chuckled and placed Niall down on the tiles.

“Dooce,” Niall said, bouncing on his bum.

“Juice?” Zayn asked, repeating what he thought Niall had said. Niall nodded, making grabby hands for his bottle Zayn was filling up for him. Zayn handed him a bottle of blackcurrant juice and Niall crawled off with it, gripping the nipple of his bottle with his teeth as he crawled.

He got into the living room and sat on Zayn’s fluffy white rug with his bottle, waiting for the telly to be turned on. Harry came and put it on for him, leaving Niall with a few of his toys scattered on the floor.

As Niall watched the telly, he pulled the nipple of the bottle from his mouth. He took his eyes from the telly and averted them to the bottle in his hands which he experimentally tipped upside-down. Of course, the blackcurrant juice started dripping out of the nipple onto the fluffy white rug. He watched as the white rug turned a deeper purple colour with each drip from his bottle. When he began to shake it, it came out more rapidly. Niall giggled and shook the bottle as hard and quickly as he could and before long, half his bottle was now soaking into the rug.

When Zayn entered the room Niall was continuing to shake his bottle but as soon as he saw Zayn, he quickly put it in his mouth. Zayn’s eyes widened when he saw the purple patch and he had to stop himself from getting mad at Niall.

“Niall, what happened?” Zayn raised an eyebrow at him,

“It was ac-i-den,” Niall said, his eyes full of guilt and he couldn’t look at Zayn. They immediately cast to the ground and refused to look at him. The look of absolute guilt on Niall’s face almost had Zayn laughing.

“Niall,” Zayn said in a warning voice. “Niall, I don’t think you’re telling me the truth,” he said. Niall still wouldn’t look at him. He knew he’d done wrong. “Niall, tell baba the truth,” Zayn leaned down so he was eye-level with Niall. Niall didn’t want to tell the truth though, in fear that he’d get owies.

“Ac-i-den,” Niall insisted. He then demonstrated how he ‘accidentally’ tipped the bottle upside down and Zayn watched as some of the juice dripped out. He quickly snatched the bottle from Niall.

“No, bad boy,” Zayn scolded, setting the bottle on the coffee table. “Niall, I saw you purposely tipping the bottle over, don’t lie to me,” Zayn warned and suddenly Niall looked terrified. He started to cry and that’s when Zayn started to feel a little guilty but he knew he had to follow through with his punishment to show Niall he couldn’t mess with him.

“Sowry baba, it was ac-i-den,” Niall lisped, trying to hug Zayn who only held his hand out, pushing Niall’s chest away gently.

“Niall, stop lying to me, it was no accident,” Zayn grabbed Niall under his arms and carried him to the stairs. He set Niall on the bottom marble step where he just sat quietly crying. He didn’t seem to protest much, too scared if he did, he might get a tougher punishment. He was soon in Zayn’s arms again, apologising between cries. Zayn was cooing and holding him close, telling him it was okay.

“How about we go play outside in the pool?” Zayn asked Niall who sniffled quietly as he nodded. Zayn tried to get Niall in a pair of red shorts but the little lad outright refused. He hated wearing anything over his nappy and he even despised wearing his nappy at times too but he didn’t have much of a choice in that.

Zayn changed Niall into a pool nappy and then carried him out in just that nappy. He was acting rather clingy and instead of getting into the pool for him, Niall lay on Zayn’s chest on one of the pool chairs. Zayn lay with his eyes closed, sunglasses on, rubbing Niall’s back gently.

“I like clingy Niall,” Harry said, watching him fondly as he sucked on his dummy.

“Mmm,” Zayn hummed in response. “Don’t you wanna go play in the pool? Look, there’s a monkey in there for you to play with,” Zayn gestured to the pool where there was a pile of inflatables scattered around it for Niall. Niall shook his head, closing his eyes, rather enjoying just being held. He wasn’t feeling particularly little but after being in trouble he was just feeling sensitive and wanted comfort.

Some time later, Niall was in the pool playing with some of the inflatable toys whilst the two boys cuddled on the patio sofa that was nearer the pool. Niall was seemingly quite content splashing around with the monkey and giant ice-cream inflatables. He climbed out of the pool and ran over to the two boys.

“Baba, pop, come p’ay,” Niall was bouncing on his feet as he spoke. Both boys just smiled and stood up. When Niall saw them beginning to undo their belts on their jeans, evidently to strip to their boxers and get in, Niall’s eyes filled with fear. His smile suddenly vanished and Harry saw the colour drain from Niall's face. The only thing that was in his mind were flashbacks of his father taking his belt off to punish Niall.

Niall backed away, so far back that he was unaware he was at the edge of the pool. He slipped and fell in, smacking his face on the edge of the pool as he did, which sounded tremendously painful to the boys.

“Niall!” They both exclaimed when Niall was underwater and not moving. He wasn’t unconscious, he was just paralysed with fear. Harry reached in and pulled Niall’s trembling body out. He coughed and when he did, blood spluttered out of his mouth. His front teeth had penetrated the delicate skin of his mouth from the whack he got and he’d also bitten the side of it which soon caused blood to start pouring out of his mouth. This panicked both boys to an extent, especially because Niall wasn’t crying, he was only shaking and staring at the concrete beneath him where the blood was dripping.

Before long, he was limp and needed their support to even sit up. They thought he was growing weak from blood loss which had them rather scared. “Ni, are you feeling okay?” Harry asked as Zayn went to get a bottle of water. Niall didn’t reply and instead lay limply in Harry’s arms, gripping his shirt for dear life with tears in his eyes.

By the time Zayn came back, the bleeding had stopped which calmed the boys down but Niall still seemed out of it. As Zayn fed Niall the bottle of water, it became apparent Niall wasn’t out of it from blood loss, he’d just gotten little on them, probably from the trauma.

Zayn carried Niall inside, drying him off and getting him in a proper nappy. He wrapped Niall in a fluffy blanket then and just held him, which was exactly all Niall craved right now. Harry gently wiped around Niall’s mouth with a damp washcloth to clean the blood. Niall’s face scrunched up and he was whimpering quietly with his eyes shut, mimicking much like a newborn.

“Oh, don’t cry,” Zayn cooed, pulling Niall’s body closer to his chest. He kissed the top of Niall’s head, rocking him gently in an attempt to soothe him but Niall started to cry. He balled his fists and wriggled as he wailed in Zayn’s arms, his eyes screwed shut. “Oh, baby boy,” Zayn cooed, putting Niall over his shoulder and gently rubbing his back as he walked around the room. Niall didn’t like this new position and just cried even harder.

Harry came in with a bottle of warm milk for Niall and before long, the bottle was being pushed between Niall’s lips where soft cries were still being emitted. Some milk dribbled onto his tongue which slowly rolled back and down his throat, causing the little lad to splutter and started to cough.

“Oh little man, come here,” Harry cooed and brought Niall onto his lap. He pushed the bottle between Niall’s lips once again and once he realised it was there, he was hungrily sucking on the nipple, his bright blue eyes suddenly opening. He was gulping the milk down as quick as the bottle would let him and if Louis was here, he’d be giving out because Niall was going to make himself sick. In just a few minutes, the bottle was completely empty and Niall’s tummy was looking a little bloated.

“You were a hungry little lad,” Zayn chuckled as he wiped the milk dribble from Niall’s chin. Niall just looked up at him with bright eyes, glistening under the light whilst he chewed on his fingers. Zayn lay Niall down on the floor next to the couch where they’d set out blankets and cushions for Niall. He left Niall with his Peppa toy and teddy before going to the kitchen with Harry to have something to eat. They presumed Niall would be okay and that’d he would sleep now he was full.

While they ate, Niall was crying rather loudly from the living room. His tummy was too full, he hadn’t been burped, and he was feeling sick. He also hated being left on his own and just wanted to be held now. Zayn went to check on him, sticking two fingers in Niall’s nappy only to find he was dry. Zayn deemed him okay and just assumed he wanted attention.

“He’s okay,” Zayn said as he sat down again to eat. Niall continued to cry the whole time they ate and when Harry went to check on him, Niall was extremely agitated. He was red-faced and sweaty, tears streaming down his face.

“Zayn! He’s not okay!” Harry exclaimed, picking Niall up. “He doesn’t just want attention,” Harry said as he rubbed Niall’s back, pacing the room with him. He still continued to cry rather loudly.

“Well, what’s wrong with him?” Zayn asked as Harry sat down with Niall. Niall was sobbing loudly over Harry’s arm as Harry rubbed and patted his back, assuming he had wind.

“I don’t know but it’s not like he can tell us right now,” Harry replied. Zayn took a seat next to Niall and gently took one of Niall’s hands in his. Niall immediately gripped Zayn’s tightly, trying to pull it closer to him. Zayn let him and before he knew it, Niall was gnawing on Zayn’s hand, getting his drool all over it.

“What’s up, why are you acting so strange?” Zayn gently stroked Niall’s tear stained, bright red cheek with the pad of his thumb. Niall suddenly pulled away from Zayn’s hand and was sick all over Zayn’s shirt. Zayn’s jaw dropped but Harry only started to laugh. Niall looked at Zayn with bright, guilty eyes and as soon as he saw Zayn’s expression he started to cry harder.

“Oh Niall, don’t cry, it’s all okay, it’a all okay. I’ll go change, don’t worry,” Zayn kissed the top of Niall’s head before going to change. Niall still continued to cry because his tummy still felt weird and now he’d just wet his nappy which was weighing heavily between his legs against Harry’s thigh.

Niall gave no warning before he was sick all down his own front, his milk he’d drunk before making an appearance once again. “Now this is what happens when you drink your milk too fast,” Harry sighed as he carried a wailing Niall to the bathroom. He set Niall on his changing mat, wiping off his chest with a towel. Zayn came into the room with no shirt on and smiled at the two.

“Oh no, what’s wrong? Is our little man not feeling good?” Zayn asked, watching Niall chew on his fingers.

“He just guzzled the milk so it’s repeating on him,” Harry responded as he took off Niall’s nappy. He rolled it up and handed it to Zayn who threw it away. Harry then grabbed a wipe, beginning to clean off Niall’s groin area. As he did this, Niall was wriggling more than usual, looking uncomfortable which wasn’t very promising. “I think more milk might be coming up,” Harry said so Zayn got a towel ready.

When Harry grabbed both Niall’s ankles, lifting them up so he could wipe Niall’s bum, he got quite the surprise. Harry screamed when liquid shot right out of Niall’s butt and splattered on the changing mat, the floor and Harry’s shirt. He dropped Niall’s legs and looked down at his shirt in shock.

“I think the milk came out the wrong way,” Zayn said, his turn to laugh now. 

“This is not milk,” Harry looked as if he was going to cry. “How the hell did he poo like that? I didn’t even know projectile shitting was a thing. Where’s Louis when you need him to reassure us this is all ‘normal’?” Harry asked Zayn who just shrugged with a chuckle.

Zayn picked up Niall, bringing him over to the bath. “Let’s just get him in before he makes any more mess,” Zayn said and just as he said it, Harry’s face was scrunching up. It was then Zayn felt it, the warm wetness in his hand that was holding Niall’s bum. He didn’t even want to look. He knew Niall had just pooped in his hand. “Oh God, give us strength,” Zayn said, quickly popping Niall in the water before he could do any more damage. He looked down at the floor where a small puddle of it was and almost gagged. If they knew Niall was going to get the shits today — while his nappy was off — they certainly would have left him at home with Louis, the pro.

Poor Niall was looking as uncomfortable as ever in the bath. He couldn’t hold himself up to sit and he was fundamentally submerged in the water. When he slipped more and was literally lying flat in the tub, he started to scream under the water. His mouth and nose were now under it which scared Niall tremendously.

“Oh Niall,” Harry rushed over to him. They were so shocked about what just happened, they’d forgotten Niall was so small right now that he couldn’t hold himself up. Harry quickly pulled Niall to a sitting position and held him there. The little lad had swallowed water and so he was coughing aggressively. He was not having a good day either. Harry washed Niall — once he’d calmed down — and Zayn washed the floor and Niall’s changing mat.

“Must say, this is the best day I’ve ever had,” Zayn sarcastically said. Harry rolled his eyes fondly from where he was kneeling on the floor. When Zayn was done cleaning, he knelt down next to Harry and watched Niall who was just staring at the ceiling, chewing on his fingers whilst Harry gently rubbed over his body with a washcloth. “You know, even though he puked on me and pooped in my hand, I still don’t want him to go home,” Zayn chuckled.

“Even though he projected poop onto my shirt, I don’t want him to go either,” Harry agreed. “I always miss him when we leave their house. I just love being around him," Harry said quietly. Zayn nodded in agreement. There was something so refreshing about spending time with little Niall.

…

Zayn smiled down at Niall who was lying between his legs, chewing on a soft baby toy. Zayn lightly tickled up the side of Niall’s legs from his ankles. This caused him to squeal quietly behind the toy and kick his legs rather weakly. Zayn smiled brightly down at Niall before doing the same thing again; the same response. “Can we adopt him?” Zayn asked Harry when he came into the room.

“Yeah, let’s just steal him. We’ll move country and not tell the boys,” he joked. Niall squealed and smiled at Harry, as though saying, _‘yeah, I wouldn’t mind that’_. “Oh, you wanna come with us?” Harry cooed, kneeling down next to Niall. He started kissing all over Niall’s face. Niall gripped Harry’s hair and squealed as he did this, just loving the affection. “Kisses for me?” Harry asked, pulling back. He leaned closer but Niall just sucked on one of his cheeks. He was even too little right now to give kisses. Niall grabbed Harry’s face, pulled it so his lips were on his cheek again. He obviously wanted Harry to continue kissing all over his face.

“He is so sweet,” Zayn cooed as Harry began kissing all over Niall’s face again, Niall squealing and giggling beneath him.

“He just loves being the center of attention,” Harry chuckled as he pulled back. As soon as both boys stood up and sat on the couch together, Niall was crying. He wriggled around on the little bed they’d made him on the floor and kicked all the blankets off himself. When neither of the boys moved, Niall only cried harder.

“You’re very demanding,” Zayn said as he picked Niall up. Niall’s cries weren’t long ceasing as soon as he felt hands hauling him up. Niall smiled at Zayn as soon as he was on his hip. “You’re a monkey,” Zayn shook his head, sitting down with Niall in his arms. He frowned when he felt Niall mouthing at his nipple through his shirt.

“Ha-ha, he thinks you’re going to breastfeed him,” Harry giggled from next to them. “That’s what happens when you get manboobs,” Harry teased.

“I can get rid of my manboobs, but you’re stuck with your four nipples,” he retorted, winking at Harry who only glowered at him. It soon turned into a giggle though and he leaned over and pressed his lips to Zayn’s. When Zayn tried to kiss back, Harry quickly pulled away.

“Four nipples better go and pump a bottle with his abnormal nipples,” Harry patted Zayn’s cheek. Zayn whined as he watched him go, trying to grab harry’s hand. He liked kissing Harry, but Harry was a tease.

Zayn was soon feeding Niall a bottle, giving Harry a rather solemn expression to show he was sad that he didn’t get a proper kiss. Harry just rolled his eyes and continued to scroll through his Facebook on his phone. He smirked to himself though when Zayn sighed and turned his attention back to Niall.

He remembered to burp Niall this time. Once he was burped, he tried to set Niall down on the floor but as soon as he did, Niall was crying. He looked as though he was trying to sit up but he wasn’t strong enough right now to actually physically pull himself up.

“Shh,” Zayn pushed a dummy between Niall’s lips. They’d been literally holding him all day, he was well and truly spoiled by them. Niall sucked on it for less than a minute before spitting it out and crying louder.

“Zayn’s a meanie, putting you down, eh?” Harry went over to Niall, giving Zayn a teasing side-eye glance as he did. He brought Niall over to the armchair he was sitting on and cuddled him. Zayn just chuckled quietly.

Louis and Liam soon appeared but when they did, Niall was fast asleep in Harry’s arms. “Ni, look, daddy and papa are here!” Harry exclaimed, shaking Niall. This rudely awoke him from his slumber and his first reaction was to cry loudly. Once his eyes focused on the two boys, the crying ceased and a wide smile was set across his face.

“Hello mister, were you good for baba and pops?” Louis asked, the first to pick up Niall for a much-yearned cuddle. He had to admit, being home with Liam today and no Niall was the weirdest feeling ever. He kept going to check on a Niall who wasn’t there. Damn, he missed him a lot. He never thought he’d say it but he even missed the screaming and crying. The house was just too quiet without Niall.

“Our little baby,” Liam cooed, taking his turn to give Niall a hug. Niall was smiling brightly, absolutely adoring all the attention. Liam and Louis frowned when he saw Zayn was already packing Niall’s bag up again.

“Jeez, you wanna get rid of him that quick?” Louis raised an eyebrow.

“No, I want to get rid of all of you so Harry and I can be alone,” he shoved the bag into Louis’s hands. Louis raised his eyebrows knowingly but didn’t say a word.

“Actually, I think I have to go home,” Harry teased with a smile. Zayn glared at him while Niall giggled, as though he got the joke. Liam and Louis both quickly left with Niall, laughing as they did.

“Okay, I’m off too,” Harry got his coat and acted as though he was about to leave.

“Harry, please,” Zayn whined, taking Harry’s hand gently and pulling him back to him. “Don’t go.” He gently ran a hand through Harry’s hair. “I just wanna kiss you, you’re so beautiful,” Zayn whispered. Harry smiled softly and decided maybe he would stay…

…

At home, the living room was a mess and Niall had only been home less than twenty minutes. There were now toys scattered everywhere, along with Niall’s clothes he had been wearing -- which he had taken off, along with his nappy. Blankets and pillows were also in a pile on the rug as they thought little Niall would want somewhere to lie but nope, toddler Niall wanted to take out all the toys he owned.

As Niall banged his hands down on a toy keyboard, making the most atrocious, out-of-key sound, Louis couldn’t help but think he wouldn’t want it any other way right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii, hope you enjoyed this chapter!! Please leave requests down below of what you want to happen, and as I always say, don't be shy, it can be anything, I'm open for anything!! 
> 
> Thanks for your support! Love you all so much and I hope you're having/had a wonderful day! Lots of love, A Xx.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read until the end because I need YOUR help!

Liam sat on the couch, rubbing his forehead, putting in his earphones to try drone out the sound of Niall and Danny screaming from the playroom. They were just being extra loud today and considering Liam didn’t get much sleep last night; Niall cried the majority of the night for Louis and due to this, he was tired and just couldn’t deal with all the screams. He had been home alone last night for the first time in a long time. Louis went to see his family but was coming back later today. He seriously missed the help…and him. To distract Niall from missing Louis, Danny had come over to keep him company. Niall and Danny came into the room, Danny yelling something at Liam. With a deep sigh, Liam took his earphones out of his ears and looked to the two boys.

Niall and Danny came into the room, Danny yelling something at Liam. With a deep sigh, Liam took his earphones out of his ears and looked to the two boys.

“We wanna play you a song we made up,” Danny said, smiling up at Liam. He was holding a toy keyboard and Niall had a drum.

“Oh Good God,” Liam whispered to himself. “Okay boys, play it for me,” he said and instantly regretted it. Both boys started banging their instruments with their hands and Danny was the lead singer. He yelled a jumble of words which made zero sense. Niall seemed to be the backing vocals as he just occasionally screamed or giggled. After a grueling two minutes, the boys finally stopped. Liam immediately clapped and told them they were amazing.

“Wanna hear another one?” Danny asked.

“No!” Liam yelled. “I mean, come on, we’re having lunch,” Liam stood up, leading both boys to the kitchen. He got Niall in his highchair and just sighed when he saw he was taking off all his clothes — including his nappy. He was too tired to fight Niall. “If you pee, you’re cleaning it yourself,” Liam sighed as he rubbed his eyes. Niall threw the nappy to the ground and smiled at Liam.

“Did you know Niall is my boyfriend?” Danny asked Liam, smiling at him.

“Is he?” Liam grumbled unenthusiastically as he chopped some fruit for the boys.

“Yeah, look he gives me kisses,” Danny said before standing up and leaning over Niall’s tray. Niall gave him a peck on the lips and both boys erupted into giggles, covering their mouths afterward. Although he was exhausted, Liam cracked a smile because that was one of the cutest, most innocent things they had done.

“You’re not allowed to kiss Niall without my permission,” Liam raised an eyebrow at him. “If you’re gonna marry him you have to ask me too.”

“Yeah we are getting married,” Danny concluded.

“Love Danny like daddy loves papa,” Niall smiled at Liam which had him cooing.

“Right, boyfriends eat your food,” Liam placed a bowl of chopped fruit in front of the two boys, a sippy cup of juice for Danny and a bottle of milk for Niall. He then collapsed on the couch in the living room again, just praying the boys wouldn’t get up to no good.

He returned after about twenty minutes to find Danny had cleared his plate but Niall was only drinking his milk and hadn’t even touched the fruit. “Niall, you’re not leaving that highchair until you finish that fruit,” Liam said, more sternly than he anticipated but he was just exhausted. Niall shook his head and continued to suck on his bottle which Liam was not long snatching out of his hands.

“Eat up, now,” Liam said.

“Wee,” Niall held his hands out to Liam to be picked up.

“You need a wee?” Liam raised an eyebrow and Niall nodded. Niall generally didn’t tell them when he needed a wee. If his nappy was off and he just so happened to need to wee, he’d wee wherever he was with next to no thought about it. “You’re coming back to finish,” Liam said as he let Niall out of his highchair.

“Come on, let’s go potty,” Liam sighed and was about to pick Niall up when Danny interrupted.

“I can help him!” He exclaimed excitedly. Liam being as tired as he was just let Danny lead a hesitant Niall to the bathroom. Surprisingly, Liam watched from the door as Danny got Niall to sit on the potty and a few seconds later, the sound of liquid hitting plastic was echoing throughout the room. Liam’s eyebrows raised in surprise when Niall was actually using the potty.

“Good boy,” Liam smiled as Danny came over and gave Niall a high-five. “Okay, nappy and you’re back to eating,” Liam firmly said. He got Niall in a new nappy which had Elmo on it. This had Danny fascinated and he looked a little jealous of Niall.

Liam left Niall to finish his food and in less than a minute he was calling on Liam, telling him he was done. Liam let Niall out but then frowned as he watched him crawl away, his nappy looking a little saggy. “Niall, did you do a poo?” Liam asked him. Niall turned, sitting on his bum to look at Liam. He shook his head. “It looks like you pooped,” Liam sighed. He sniffed Niall’s nappy and was surprised he seemed to be telling the truth so he let him go off to play.

Niall and Danny were soon back to screaming and playing loudly and Liam’s head was getting sore. Much to his relief though, Louis was back soon.

“Niall, papa is home!” Liam called out and a few seconds later, Niall was hurrying into the room and running to Louis. He squealed as Louis picked him up and gave him a hug.

“A little birdie told me you missed me,” Louis raised his eyebrows at Niall who nodded.

“Love papa,” he buried his face in his chest.

“We have a song, wanna hear it?” Danny asked Louis, coming in with the instruments in hand. 

“Good luck, babe,” Liam kissed Louis’s cheek before going off upstairs for a nap.

…

A while later, Oli had come to pick up Danny because the nurse was coming to see Niall. She just wanted to make sure he was okay and see how his weight was. Niall was sat on Louis’ lap, smiling shyly at the nurse.

“You’re looking happy and healthy,” she gently pinched Niall’s cheek. Niall turned around in Louis’ arms and buried his face in his chest.

“Oi, you’re not shy Niall, what are you doing?” Louis chuckled, rubbing his back gently.

“Niall, we gotta do the things I always do, you remember, right?” She asked Niall who nodded shyly.

“No owies,” he said, referring to the bloods she always took. She just chuckled and just continued to check a few things with Niall, such as his temperature, getting his to push on her hands with his hands and feet and checking his reflexes. Niall knew what was coming next and was already taking off his clothes to get weighed.

“Aren’t you good,” Louis chuckled, untaping Niall’s nappy. He was more shocked to find that Niall’s nappy was filled with something that wasn’t his business. It was filled with fruit and the same Peppa toy he had hidden from Danny the last time he had been over.

“I knew he hadn’t eaten that food,” Liam grumbled as the nurse started to laugh.

“Were you naughty?” She chuckled as she lifted Niall onto the scales. Niall’s eyes held ones of guilt and he couldn’t look at either of his daddies. He was never very good at hiding his guilt. Liam looked rather pissed off and if the nurse wasn’t here, Niall would’ve been in the naughty step by now.   
  
The nurse handed Niall back to Louis before starting to write in a chart. “Sowry daddy,” Niall pouted before hiding his face in Louis’ chest. Louis draped a blanket over Niall who was trying to suck on Louis’ nipple. It was as though he found it a little therapeutic. 

“You’ll be happy to know that Niall is no longer underweight and he’s now a healthier weight,” she smiled. “He’s still very light for his age and size but if he doesn’t get any lighter again I’ll be very happy with him,” she told the boys who were smiling brightly.

“Now Niall, we’re just gonna rub some cream on your arm, is that okay?” she asked Niall who looked at her rather hesitantly. She was not going to fool him. Surely enough a few seconds later Niall felt the jabbing of the needle and he was crying loudly. Louis tried to hush him, gently rubbing his back but Niall only cried harder.

“Okay, we’re all done,” the woman said, a few minutes later after filling a few vials of blood. She held a cotton ball on Niall’s arm to stop the bleeding and soon replaced that with a Peppa Pig bandaid.

“Wow, look at that, thats so cool,” Louis gestured to the bandaid. “I wish I got one of those,” he said whilst Niall sniffled in his arms. He gave Louis a look as though, ' _really dude? Then you should've got the bloody needle in your arm'._  

“I think Niall should go to the dentist, does he brush his teeth regularly and all that?”

“Yes, we brush our teeth every morning together don’t we,” Liam smiled at Niall who nodded. “And he usually brushes before bed but sometimes he’s sleeping before we can.”

“Peppa poofbutch,” Niall said in a way only the boys could decipher what he was saying.

“He has a Peppa Pig toothbrush,” Louis chuckled, smiling down at Niall. She then asked some general questions like about Niall’s appetite — which was terrible but the formula really kept him healthy — about his sleep habits — which were surprisingly good — and about his nappy use — which was also normal.

“Well Niall, you’re doing very well, aren’t you?” She asked Niall who smiled. “I’m very happy with his weight now and he seems to be very happy and healthy so I won’t need to come back for a while.”

When the nurse left, for once the boys felt happy with themselves. Usually, when she left they felt guilty because Niall was never a good weight and they always felt as though they were doing something wrong with him. For once, they felt like adequate carers.

…

Niall was sat on the carpeted floor of the waiting room, mustard leggings, a grey printed top and some Nike runners. He was looking rather adorable as he pushed a toy car over his thigh. He smashed two cars together and made a _‘crash’_ sound, before throwing both cars to the side and making an explosion sound. Liam smiled down at him, reaching down and ruffling his hair.

They didn’t know how Niall was going to react to this new situation but they were bringing him to the dentist as requested by the nurse. Little Niall had never been so they just hoped he would be cooperative.

Niall’s name was soon called and they carried him and his cars to the dentist room. Immediately, Niall was looking rather hesitant. He looked at the dentist with big eyes. He put his fingers in his mouth, chewing on them anxiously. Liam tried to set Niall in the dentist chair and immediately Niall was whining and clinging onto him.

“Niall, you need to sit here,” Liam said, trying to set him down again.

“No!” Niall cried, tears beginning to well in his eyes. Being in this new predicament made Niall feel anxious and he just wanted to be held by his daddy or papa because they always made him feel safe.

“You can sit in the chair with him if it makes him more comfortable,” the dentist assured. Liam nodded. Louis sat down and Liam placed Niall on his lap. The dentist sat down on his stool, using his feet to pull himself closer to Niall. “Can I have a look at your mouth?” He asked Niall. Niall whined and buried his face in Louis’ chest, shaking his head.

“Ni, babe, show the dentist your teeth,” Liam encouraged.

“No,” Niall sternly responded.

“Just open your mouth and let me have a look, go ‘aahhh’.” The dentist demonstrated what he wanted Niall to do. Niall only stared at him, not opening his mouth. He was not going to be cooperative today, but the boys didn’t blame him. Not many people like the dentist.

“Look, daddy will do it first,” Liam opened his mouth for the dentist who then used some of his tools, pretending to do things in Liam’s mouth. Niall just watched with furrowed eyebrows, not any more convinced to open his mouth.

“Can I see your teeth now?” He asked Niall who quickly shook his head with no hesitation. He gripped Louis’ shirt tightly in his hand, staring at the dentist. “How about you show me how you brush your teeth?” He pulled out a toothbrush then, smiling at Niall.

“Peppa poofbutch,” Niall folded his arms.

“He wants his Peppa Pig toothbrush,” Liam chuckled, feeling his cheeks blush at how Niall was acting right now. He just felt bad for the dentist and as though they were wasting his time.

“Well, I might not have a Peppa Pig toothbrush, but I do have a Mickey Mouse one,” he smiled, pulling out a red toothbrush from one of the drawers. Niall’s eyes lit up when he saw Mickey Mouse on the toothbrush and he immediately made grabby hands for it. “Okay, to keep the toothbrush and get a sticker you have to show me how you brush your teeth,” the dentist said as he put some toothpaste on the brush Niall was holding.

Niall looked up at him hesitantly before tentatively putting the brush in his mouth and sloppily brushing his teeth. Usually, Liam or Louis did it for him so he wasn’t very good at doing it.

“Wow, you’re doing so well,” the dentist smiled, looking at Niall’s teeth now he had his mouth open.

“Want papa to do it?” Louis asked, taking the brush out of Niall’s hand. He told Niall to open his mouth wide and then brushed one side of his mouth whilst the dentist looked at the other side. When the dentist caught a hold in one of Niall’s teeth with the probe Niall immediately bit down on his hand rather hard.

“Niall!” Louis exclaimed when the poor dentist squeaked and pulled his hand out. Niall started to cry, turning around in Louis’ arms and burying his face in his chest.

“Niall, stop that crying,” Louis scolded. “Now stop your messing, turn around and let the dentist look in your mouth,” Louis firmly said, trying to turn Niall’s body around.

“No,” Niall cried into his chest. The dentist made his tooth hurt, he was certainly not going to let him near his mouth again. 

“We’re not going to force him but he defiantly does need a filling,” he said which made Liam internally groan because this was not going to be easy. “Niall, we need to fix your tooth before it starts giving your owies. I promise it won’t hurt one bit but you’ll have to stay extra still in papa’s arms and let me do it, is that okay?” He asked. “If you’re good for me I’ll give you some stickers and a sugar-free lolly,” he offered. Niall just looked at him unsurely.

“Okay, I think we’ll get him a little gas and air to calm him down,” he said and soon a nurse was in the room with a mask for Niall. Niall whined, wriggling in Louis’ arms as she gently placed a mask over Niall’s mouth. Niall cried quietly behind it, his breath coming in quick gasps. Louis felt quite bad for him now when he saw how panicked Niall appeared, his bright blue eyes wide with fear. A few seconds later though he felt him going limp in his arms, his eyes going half-lidded.

She removed the mask from his mouth and the dentist soon got to work on Niall. When he gave Niall the numbing injection, Niall was immediately crying in Louis’ arms. “Shhh baby, it’s okay,” Louis cooed, gently kissing the top of his head.

“Do-do,” Niall cried, wanting his dummy.

“After you get your tooth fixed,” Liam said as Louis rested his chin on top of Niall’s head. In just a few minutes Niall’s mouth was numb and the little lad was drooling all down his chin. The dentist then continued and Niall allowed him to, too drowsy now to even notice what he was doing. Although when the drill came out, Niall freaked out and started to cry loudly.

“Shh, calm down, calm down,” Louis sighed, holding Niall close to him. Niall was feeling very dazed, he didn’t understand what was going on but the sound of the drill and the feel of it against his tooth petrified him. He could feel it vibrating in his whole head and he did not like it one bit. They both wished he could do something to calm Niall but they couldn’t even give him his dummy right now.

“Niall, it won’t hurt, I promise,” the dentist said but Niall continued to cry. He was exhausted now as well because of whatever drug they gave him and he just wanted his dummy. “Let’s just give him a break,” the dentist said. “Give him his dummy if you want. We don’t want to stress him out too much.”

Liam quickly got Niall his dummy from his pocket but because Niall’s mouth was so numb he couldn’t suck on it properly. He was drooling copiously behind it but now his dummy was in his mouth he was completely calm.

After about five minutes, the dentist came back and gently eased the dummy out of Niall’s mouth. Niall allowed him to, just looking at him sleepily. Soon, the dentist was back at work and Niall was surprisingly letting him to this time.

“You’re doing so well,” Louis told Niall, running his hand through his hair. Niall’s eyes were watering as the dentist worked. He looked extremely uncomfortable and scared but he was letting him do what he needed to.

Much to Niall’s relief, the dentist was soon finished and he popped Niall’s dummy back in his mouth. Niall gratefully took it, sloppily sucking on it, dribbling down his chin within seconds.

“You did so well, we’re so proud of you,” Louis wrapped his arms tightly around Niall and held him close to his chest. “Our good big boy,” he kissed Niall’s cheek. Niall just stared at the floor. He was traumatised and just wanted to go home so his only instinct was to cry.

“Aww, we’re all done and look, here’s some stickers,” the dentist gave Niall an array of stickers. “And here’s your lolly,” he said, holding one out but Niall only cried and pushed it away.

“Okay, we’ll take it for later,” Liam blushed, taking the lolly from him. They thanked the dentist before quickly taking a rather agitated Niall home.

At home, his grey shirt was now saturated in drool due to his numb mouth. There was literally a constant flow coming from behind his dummy. He wouldn’t let neither Louis nor Liam put him down and had to be carried around the house with them. Louis was making dinner while Liam had a shower which meant he had to make dinner one-handed as Niall wouldn’t let him put him down. It wasn’t easy to do but he eventually managed. Niall had his head rested on Louis’ shoulder, watching Louis cook. Louis could feel Niall’s drool seeping through his shirt but at this stage, Niall’s drool no longer phased him. He was well used to getting drooled on, puked on and peed on. Not much phased him anymore.

When dinner was ready, Niall wouldn’t sit in his highchair and instead sat on Louis’ lap. Not surprisingly, the little lad didn’t want to eat. “Come on, eat for papa,” Louis held out a forkful of food for him. Niall shook his head and turned away from it, pushing his face under Louis’ arm. He managed to get Niall to nibble on a few fries but that was the height of it.

After dinner, Niall refused his bottle which was unlike him. He was just sitting silently on the couch next to the two boys, acting rather strange. They thought maybe he was coming down with something and took his temperature but it was fine. Bemused, Louis took Niall upstairs for a bath. “Want some Calpol? Are you feeling alright?” Louis asked Niall. He felt his forehead again, just to be sure, but Niall pushed his hands away which made Louis frown. Niall was just acting so strange.

“How about we play in the bath before bedtime, Ni, how does that sound?” Louis asked, pulled out the drawer of Niall’s bath toys. Niall stared at them for a few seconds before shaking his head. “Yeah, come on, you need a bath and we’ll put lots of bubbles in it,” Louis said before beginning to fill the bathtub with water and bubbles. When it was finished he turned to Niall and started trying to take his clothes off but Niall wasn’t letting him. “Ni, come on, we’re gonna get in the bath.”

“No!” Niall exclaimed, rather loud for him. Louis was more than taken aback by this. He just incredulously stared at Niall wondering what was wrong with his baby boy right now.

“Ni, look, we’ll put your toys in,” Louis said, picking up a few of them and plopping them in the water.

“No!’ Niall yelled, louder and more aggressive than before.

“Okay, okay calm down,” Louis furrowed his eyebrows as he spoke. He just stared at Niall for a few seconds, wondering what the fuck was going on, before shaking himself from his thoughts. “Do you wanna just go to bed?” Louis tentatively asked Niall who nodded silently. He went to pick Niall up but Niall pushed his hands away and stood up — a little wobbly — and followed Louis to their bedroom. Niall sat down on the edge of their bed, glancing up at Louis who was getting out Niall’s pyjamas and a new nappy.

“Alright then, lie down,” Louis said to Niall who just continued to stare at him. “Come on, we need to get your nappy and pyjamas on you,” Louis told Niall who didn’t budge. Louis tried to push Niall’s chest gently to coax him to lie down but Niall was not budging. “Niall, nappy, now,” Louis spoke much more sternly than before.

“No,” Niall snapped back, just as stern as Louis was speaking.

“You won’t be getting snappy with me mister or I swear to God, you’ll go straight to the naughty step and sit in that wet nappy.” No response. Niall just continued to stare between his legs at the bedsheets. Louis was growing increasingly worried as time wore on. He could see Niall’s eyes were watering from where he was and this made him even more baffled. What was wrong with Niall?

“What’s going on in here?” Liam asked, entering the room looking rather worried.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” Louis spoke quietly. “He’s acting so weird,”

“Ni, babe, come to daddy, tell him what’s wrong,” Liam got down on his hunches. He tried to pull Niall’s body into his arms but Niall pushed him away and sat back on their bed. Suddenly, Niall’s eyes were watering over and he was crying. it wasn’t like how he usually cried, he was trying to hold his sobs in but every few seconds a whimper or whine was escaping.

“Niall, baby, what is it?” Louis asked a feeling of dread bubble in his stomach at the prospect of something actually being wrong with Niall. Did whatever the dentist give to him have an affect on him?

Niall let Louis pick him up, much to his relief. He just held Niall close to his chest, whispering sweet nothings into his ear. Liam watched, rather worried about Niall. “Let’s just all cuddle in bed,” Louis got in, placing Niall in the middle of himself and Liam.

Niall was clinging onto Louis, gripping his shirt tightly in his fist as though he was scared. Niall looked up at Louis with watery eyes. “What’s wrong?” Louis gently stroked Niall’s cheek with the pad of his thumb, wiping tears away. Louis’ touch seemed to be calming Niall down. Niall looked up at him his breathing calming as he grabbed Louis’ hand which had been stroking his cheek.

“Don’t ever kick me out,” Niall whispered and both boys eyes shot down to him.

“Niall, what are you talking about? Why would we kick you out?!” Liam incredulously asked.

“‘cause I’m a nuisance,” he quietly spoke and the boys were not long realising Niall had slipped out of his headspace. He sat up and rubbed his eyes whilst the boys watched in shock.

“Niall, babe you’re not a nuisance, we love you,” Liam assured him, placing a hand on his back. Niall immediately began to cry into his hands, feeling a little overwhelmed with love. He was not used to so much love and big didn't didn't think he deserved it. 

“Don’t ever leave me on my own,” he cried into his hands. Liam wrapped his arm around Niall and pulled him closer to him.

“Niall, we’re never going to leave you on your own. We love you so much and we’d only miss you too much if you weren’t here,” Liam assured him.

“I love you guys so much,” Niall gripped both their hands tightly in his own. Both boys smiled and Liam brought Niall’s hand up to his mouth, gently kissing the back of it. “I think I’m ready to be big again,” Niall said and both Liam and Louis’ hearts dropped. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhh, the end of this work! Don't worry there's lots more baby Niall to come!! Instead of having loads of chapters in one, I decided I'd split it! So tune in next Saturday for chapter 1 of the next work!! 
> 
> Also, I want all you amazing readers to vote! I got a prompt to add one of the other boys as a baby as well in this story and I was actually kind of thinking of it myself but was unsure!! I want you all down below to vote whether or not you want me to make one of the other boys a little too so they can be little along with Niall! He'd have a new playmate haha. I was thinking either Harry or Zayn because Niall needs his daddy and papa, so yeah! Vote whether or not you want that to happen and whether or not you want it to be Harry or Zayn! It's all down to you guys because it's you who reads this so I want to write what you want to read! 
> 
> Thank sooo much for all your support, I love you guys sooo soo much and hope you're having a wonderful day! Lots of love, A Xx.


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